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The progress in flexible and neuromorphic electronics technologies has facilitated the development of artificial perception systems. By closely emulating biological functions, these systems are at the forefront of revolutionizing intelligent robotics and refining the dynamics of human–machine interactions. Among these, tactile sensory neuromorphic technologies stand out for their ability to replicate the intricate architecture and processing mechanisms of the brain. This replication not only facilitates remarkable computational efficiency but also equips devices with efficient real-time data-processing capability, which is a cornerstone in artificial intelligence evolution and human–machine interface enhancement. Herein, we highlight recent advancements in neuromorphic systems designed to mimic the functionalities of the human tactile sensory system, a critical component of somatosensory functions. After discussing the tactile sensors which biomimic the mechanoreceptors, insights are provided to integrate artificial synapses and neural networks for advanced information recognition emphasizing the efficiency and sophistication of integrated system. It showcases the evolution of tactile recognition biomimicry, extending beyond replicating the physical properties of human skin to biomimicking tactile sensations and efferent/afferent nerve functions. These developments demonstrate significant potential for creating sensitive, adaptive, plastic, and memory-capable devices for human-centric applications. Moreover, this review addresses the impact of skin-related diseases on tactile perception and the research toward developing artificial skin to mimic sensory and motor functions, aiming to restore tactile reception for perceptual challenged individuals. It concludes with an overview of state-of-the-art biomimetic artificial tactile systems based on the manufacturing–structure–property–performance relationships, from devices mimicking mechanoreceptor functions to integrated systems, underscoring the promising future of artificial tactile sensing and neuromorphic device innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roll‐to‐roll (R2R) fabrication of high‐performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs) remains challenging for PSC commercialization. Herein, the R2R‐suitable electron transfer layer (ETL) SnO2 ink system for flexible PSCs is investigated. Water‐dispersed SnO2 inks, commonly used for flexible PSCs, form dewetting pinholes during R2R slot‐die coating owing to slower evaporation compared to spin coating. To prevent the dewetting of the pinhole, a low surface tension solvent (isopropyl alcohol, IPA) is added to the SnO2 ink. The IPA addition reduced surface tension, enhancing wetting behavior, but increased SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) aggregation. Interestingly, the fabricated ETL films with highly aggregated SnO2 NPs are smooth, in contrast to the rough layers obtained via the spin‐coating process, owing to the high shear rate. Herein, NP aggregation and surface morphology are explored using Brownian dynamics simulations under shear conditions. Consequently, when the particles are agglomerated, the PSCs with slot‐die coating exhibit higher power conversion efficiency compared to ETL spin‐coated PSCs. Therefore, IPA addition to SnO2 ink is preferred for the R2R slot‐die process by improving the wetting properties and forming smooth films. In this study, a framework is provided for obtaining high‐quality films using the slot‐die coating of ETL and promotes the commercialization of PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Push-coring is used to collect Holocene-aged coral sub-fossils, but its applications can be limited by underlying reef geology. Here, we report on a new approach of coring inundated coastal karst formations—i.e., coral holes—to determine the historical context of coral reefs in Guam. Three cores were extracted and processed to recover coral fragments as well as abundances of the photosymbiotic foraminifera Baculogypsina sphaerulata, a proxy for water clarity. Coral fragments, with the oldest dating to a median calibrated age of 221 cal. BP (1729 CE), revealed greater than 100 years of consistent accumulation and composition, suggesting a period of relative stability for macrobenthos. However, we documented a drop in B. sphaerulata abundance from approximately 100 years cal. BP, suggesting a period of environmental decline in Guam. Our results provide the first multi-centennial record of coral assemblages from Guam and provide a proof of concept for future historical investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is attracting attention as a next-generation cancer treatment that can selectively destroy malignant tissues, exhibit fewer side effects, and lack pain during treatments. Implantable PDT systems have recently been developed to resolve the issues of bulky and expensive conventional PDT systems and to implement continuous and repetitive treatment. Existing implantable PDT systems, however, are not able to perform multiple functions simultaneously, such as modulating light intensity, measuring, and transmitting tumor-related data, resulting in the complexity of cancer treatment. Here, we introduce a flexible and fully implantable wireless optoelectronic system capable of continuous and effective cancer treatment by fusing PDT and hyperthermia and enabling tumor size monitoring in real-time. This system exploits micro inorganic light-emitting diodes (μ-LED) that emit light with a wavelength of 624 nm, designed not to affect surrounding normal tissues by utilizing a fully programmable light intensity of μ-LED and precisely monitoring the tumor size by Si phototransistor during a long-term implantation (2–3 weeks). The superiority of simultaneous cancer treatment and tumor size monitoring capabilities of our system operated by wireless power and data transmissions with a cell phone was confirmed through in vitro experiments, ray-tracing simulation results, and a tumor xenograft mouse model in vivo. This all-in-one single system for cancer treatment offers opportunities to not only enable effective treatment of tumors located deep in the tissue but also enable precise and continuous monitoring of tumor size in real-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wearable silent speech interface (SSI) is a promising platform that enables verbal communication without vocalization. The most widely studied methodology for SSI focuses on surface electromyography (sEMG). However, sEMG suffers from low scalability because of signal quality-related issues, including signal-to-noise ratio and interelectrode interference. Hence, here, we present a novel SSI by utilizing crystalline-silicon-based strain sensors combined with a 3D convolutional deep learning algorithm. Two perpendicularly placed strain gauges with minimized cell dimension (<0.1 mm2) could effectively capture the biaxial strain information with high reliability. We attached four strain sensors near the subject's mouths and collected strain data of unprecedently large wordsets (100 words), which our SSI can classify at a high accuracy rate (87.53%). Several analysis methods were demonstrated to verify the system's reliability, as well as the performance comparison with another SSI using sEMG electrodes with the same dimension, which exhibited a relatively low accuracy rate (42.60%). Designing an efficient platform that enables verbal communication without vocalization remains a challenge. Here, the authors propose a silent speech interface by utilizing a deep learning algorithm combined with strain sensors attached near the subject's mouth, able to collect 100 words and classify at a high accuracy rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Versatile nanoscale sensors that are susceptible to changes in a variety of physical quantities often exhibit limited selectivity. This paper reports a novel scheme based on microwave‐dressed spin states for optically probed nanoscale temperature detection using diamond quantum sensors, which provides selective sensitivity to temperature changes. By combining this scheme with a continuous pump–probe scheme using ensemble nitrogen‐vacancy centers in nanodiamonds, a sub‐microsecond temporal resolution with thermal sensitivity of 3.7 K·Hz−1/2 that is insensitive to variations in external magnetic fields on the order of 2 G is demonstrated. The presented results are favorable for the practical application of time‐resolved nanoscale quantum sensing, where temperature imaging is required under fluctuating magnetic fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the perception bias on affective emoticons in individuals with emotion dysregulation and a maladaptive regulation strategy. A total of 289 students from the university completed 1) the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, including both adaptive and maladaptive cognitive emotional strategies, 2) the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, 3) an emoticon rating in terms of perception intensity, based on 6 basic emotions. Twenty-six emoticons from KakaoTalk, a popular messenger application in South Korea, were used after arousal whereupon valence ratings were obtained. The results revealed that individuals with emotion dysregulation significantly displayed stronger perception to ambiguous affect emoticons in anger and fear emotions, as compared to the control. These findings suggest that individuals with emotion dysregulation may be more influenced by negative affect stimuli which then leads to daily negative affect bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, flexible pressure sensors have gained substantial research interest in bioelectronics because they can monitor the conditions of various organs, enable early diagnosis of diseases, and provide precise medical treatment by applying them to various parts of the body. In particular, inorganic materials, metal and carbon-based materials are broadly used in novel structured pressure sensors from wearable devices to implantable devices. With the excellent electronic properties, distinctive morphologies, and remarkable mechanical and chemical stability of these materials, it is expected that these flexible pressure sensors can be the basis for new methods for human healthcare. This article covers an extensive review of the inorganic, metal and carbon-based flexible pressure sensor design strategies and sensing mechanisms studied in recent years for diverse applications such as tactile sensors, arterial pulse sensors, intracranial pressure sensors, intraocular pressure sensors, and bladder pressure sensors. Each section provides an overview by introducing the recent progress in flexible pressure sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient strategy for the visible‐light‐promoted intramolecular C─O bond formation has been accomplished, which allows the synthesis of cyclic ether derivatives in the absence of a photocatalyst. This reaction is likely to occur through the generation of alkoxy radical from in situ generated O─I bond, followed by 1,5‐hydrogen atom transfer (1,5‐HAT) and subsequent intramolecular cyclization to form a C─O bond. This synthetic approach offers an efficient tool by providing access to valuable cyclic ether scaffolds under mild reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) recently identified the need to improve its capacity for detecting and tracking land-based sources of pollution (LBSP) in coastal waters, particularly microbial contaminants like fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). Reported here is a baseline study of a suite of host-specific FIB microbial source tracking (MST) markers in the coastal shoreline and reef waters around the island of Saipan. Three sampling campaigns were conducted in September 2017, March 2018, and August 2018. Samples were collected from the nearshore surface waters of Saipan, the reef waters of Saipan Lagoon, and groundwater from beaches along the Saipan Lagoon shoreline. Measurements of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into nearshore waters and isotopic source tracking of nitrogen inputs were conducted concurrently with MST. Environmental DNA was extracted from the samples and analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for MST gene markers of fecal Bacteroidales specifically associated with humans, dogs, cows, and pigs, and for an MST gene marker of Catellicoccus associated with seabirds. MST assessments were combined with local knowledge, assessments of sanitary infrastructure, and routine watershed surveys. This study identified hotspots of human FIB along the western Saipan Lagoon shoreline in both surface waters and groundwater, plus another hotspot of human FIB at a popular tourist bathing area known as the Grotto. FIB hotspots on the Lagoon shoreline coincided with areas of high SGD and nitrogen isotopic data indicating sewage-derived N inputs. It appears that faulty sanitary infrastructure may be contributing to inputs to Saipan Lagoon, while bather shedding is likely a primary input for the Grotto area. Moderate levels of dog fecal contamination were common and widespread across the island. High levels of seabird fecal contamination were more random, both spatially and temporally, and mostly concentrated along the less developed northeast region of Saipan. No significant levels of cow or pig fecal marker were detected in coastal water samples. This study provides demonstration and establishment of analytical capacity to resource management in CNMI for MST technology to aid in trouble-shooting water quality issues involving land-based sources of microbial contaminants to CNMI coastal waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a remote testbed for metallic fuel fabrication using surrogates or depleted uranium. The testbed named "remote fuel fabrication mock-up (RFFM)" was created at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and specifically designed to incorporate remote operation and maintenance. The subsystems of the RFFM are described, and test results regarding remotely conducted metallic fuel slug fabrication at the RFFM are also presented. After fabricating fuel slugs using copper ingots, their specifications and properties were analyzed and evaluated using chemical analysis, radiographic tests, and diameter and weight measurements. Analysis results showed that the fabricated metallic fuel slugs have an acceptance rate of more than 90% and a casting ratio (ratio of weight of injected metal to charged metal) of more than 0.7. Moreover, operations involving remote handling of in-cell equipment were also satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a remote testbed for metallic fuel fabrication using surrogates or depleted uranium. The testbed named "remote fuel fabrication mock-up (RFFM)" was created at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and specifically designed to incorporate remote operation and maintenance. The subsystems of the RFFM are described, and test results regarding remotely conducted metallic fuel slug fabrication at the RFFM are also presented. After fabricating fuel slugs using copper ingots, their specifications and properties were analyzed and evaluated using chemical analysis, radiographic tests, and diameter and weight measurements. Analysis results showed that the fabricated metallic fuel slugs have an acceptance rate of more than 90% and a casting ratio (ratio of weight of injected metal to charged metal) of more than 0.7. Moreover, operations involving remote handling of in-cell equipment were also satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigated how an individual's time perspective of the present and the future affects the delay of gratification, using the construal level theory. In addition, the mechanisms that influence the time perspective on the delay of gratification were examined through the mediating roles of the psychological distance and the perceived possibility of getting a future reward. Participants and Methods: One hundred twenty university students completed the Korean version of the Swedish Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (S-ZTPI) and performed a Temporal Discounting task to aid in the evaluation of their ability to delay gratification. Their psychological distance to the future and perceived possibility of getting a future reward were measured using the visual analogue scale. Results: The results showed that once the Present-Hedonistic and Future-Negative from among the six-time perspectives increased, and the ability to delayed gratification decreased. On the other hand, once the Future-Positive time perspective increased, the ability to delayed gratification increased. Only the psychological distance for 9 months was associated with time perspective and the mediation effect was not significant. Present-Hedonistic time perspective negatively predicted the perceived possibility of getting a future reward and the delay of gratification. The perceived possibility of getting a future reward fully mediated the relation between the Future-Negative time perspective and the delay of gratification. Conclusion: These findings suggest that problems involved with the delay of gratification (such as smoking, addiction, and binge eating behavior) are more likely to occur in people who have high Present-Hedonistic and Future-Negative time perspectives, because these time perspectives lead to a lower perceived possibility of getting a future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is a kind of attentional symptoms characterized by symptoms of slowness in behavior or in thinking. The aim of the present study was to develop a preliminary attention training program based on real-time eye-gaze feedback using an eye-tracker. A total of 38 participants with SCT were randomly assigned to one of following two conditions: eye-feedback (N = 19; Mean Age = 21.21; range 18–26) or control (N = 19; Mean Age = 20.68; range 18–25). The participants in the eye-feedback condition received three repeated trainings on the modified version of the Posner's spatial cueing test; we also used real-time constant eye-gaze feedback designed to lead the participants to quickly and accurately engage and to disengage, with pre- and post- measurement of eye-movements (overt attention) and the revised attention network test (ANT-R; covert attention). The participants in the control condition received three repeated same trainings without any feedback, with pre- and post-measurement of eye-movements measure and ANT-R. The results revealed that the eye-feedback group showed a greater improvement in engaging and disengaging attention through the overt attention measure than the control group. The eye-feedback group also showed a greater increase only in the orienting network related to disengaging attention in the covert attention measure compared to the control group. These results suggested that the eye-feedback can be meaningfully used in attention training to enhance the efficiency of attention in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, American University (AU) transitioned all of its instruction online. Here, we report on the efforts undertaken to facilitate the transition and faculty perceptions of those actions and online teaching. In preparation for the transition, American University formed the Instructional Continuity (IC) team, comprised of the Center for Teaching, Research & Learning and the Academic Technology office. The IC team was charged with developing and implementing a responsive and comprehensive training and support schedule that began on March 16, 2020. A survey of faculty toward the end of the semester revealed general satisfaction with the support they received in transitioning to online instruction and with student learning outcome attainment. Faculty who had taught online before were more likely to show self-efficacy in online instruction compared to those who had not taught online before, despite similar, high satisfaction with student learning outcomes. We offer insights on key aspects of our efforts and the institutional structure that undergirded the largely successful transition of AU's faculty to online instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to examine the role of restrained eaters' neuroticism level in thinness fantasy and attentional bias for food following exposure to thin-ideal images. Eighty-five female participants were classified into four groups on the basis of their dietary restraint (restrained/unrestrained eaters) and neuroticism level (high/low). They completed self-reports (mood, body dissatisfaction level) on a visual analog scale before and after exposure to thin-ideal images, and then their attentional bias for food was measured using eye-movements. Results indicated that after exposure to thin-ideal images, positive affect was more decreased in restrained eaters with high neuroticism compared to other groups and negative affect was increased in all groups except unrestrained eaters with low neuroticism. Also, restrained eaters with high neuroticism showed a heightened vigilance for food. These findings underscore the role of neuroticism in restrained eaters as a moderating factor of thinness fantasy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A composite of laser-activate particles and the super engineering plastic of polyphenylene sulfide was fabricated via melt-mixing. The laser-activate particle surfaces were modified using hydroperoxide and three different silane coupling agents. The laser-activate particles dramatically deteriorate the mechanical properties of polyphenylene sulfide because of its low compatibility with the polymer. However, surface modification, especially via amino silane treatment, effectively prevented the degradation of thermal and mechanical properties upon adding laser-activate particle, while modification with phenyl silane had the reverse effect. In order to confirm the different effects, solubility parameters obtained by theoretical calculation via the group contribution method were compared. Thermally and mechanically enhanced laser-activate particle/polyphenylene sulfide composites were fabricated for laser direct structuring and electroless plating applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter presents a directive integrated-antenna-source (DIAS) for a high-power ultrawideband parabolic reflector system. Unlike the previously developed omnidirectional integrated-antenna-source (OIAS) that leads to spillover loss in a high-power parabolic reflector system, the proposed DIAS reduces the spillover loss in the system. The DIAS is designed by cutting away the halves of the two electrodes in the OIAS. The DIAS-based reflector system was designed through numerical electromagnetic simulations. The proposed DIAS was fabricated for validation. The proposed DIAS shows 3 dB beamwidths on the H-plane and E-plane of 234° and 116°, respectively, in the peak electric-field patterns. In addition, the DIAS has a much smaller capacitance than the OIAS. The proposed DIAS-based reflector system has a peak electric-field strength of 39.5 kV/m at a distance of 40 m. The results show that, although the DIAS has a much smaller capacitance than the OIAS, the DIAS-based reflector system is capable of producing high-power electromagnetic pulses similar to those of the OIAS-based reflector system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study is to differentiate between innocent suspects who have knowledge of crime information and guilty suspects. The study investigated eye-movement differences among three groups: a guilty group who took part in a mock crime, an innocent-aware group who did not commit a mock crime but were exposed to the crime stimuli, and an innocent-unaware group who neither committed a mock crime nor had crime-relevant information. Each group's eye movements were tracked while all participants viewed stimuli (crime-relevant, crime-irrelevant, and neutral). The results revealed that the guilty group not only viewed all stimuli later than the other groups, they also viewed crime-relevant and crime-irrelevant stimuli for a shorter time period than the innocent-aware group; the innocent-aware group focused their attention on crime-relevant and crime-irrelevant stimuli longer than neutral stimuli, and the innocent-unaware group showed no differences in their attention focus among all types of stimuli. This present study suggests that guilty individuals show attentional avoidance from all stimuli in a lie detection situation, whereas innocent-aware and innocent-unaware individuals did not show avoidance responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seagrasses provide important ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. However, there are significant gaps in our estimates of seagrass coverage, particularly in the western tropical Pacific. In the present study we assessed the status and extent of seagrass meadows, dominated by Enhalus acoroides , around Guam, the largest and most populated island in the Marianas. The combined above- and belowground biomass of E. acoroides (~2300 g dry weight m–2) is the highest reported for this species and among the highest for all seagrass species. Elemental analysis of C, N and P revealed variations across site and plant part (i.e. above- v. belowground); N : P ratios suggested N limitation. Between 2004 and 2015, seagrass meadows in Guam decreased in total size by 22%, although it is unclear whether this change was part of a long-term trend and whether it was caused by natural or human factors. The high standing stock of E. acoroides suggests that further examination of this species and this region will be needed to better estimate global seagrass carbon stocks. Seagrasses provide important ecosystem services, including the uptake and storage of carbon. In Guam, biomass of the sagrass Enhalus acoroides is the highest reported for this species and among the highest for all seagrass species. However, between 2004 and 2015, seagrass meadows in Guam decreased by 22%, although it was is unclear whether this change was caused by natural or human factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The five-driving test mode is vehicle driving cycles made by the Environment Protection Association (EPA) in the United States of America (U.S.A.) to fully reflect actual driving environments. Recently, fuel consumption value calculated from the adjusted fuel consumption formula has been more effective in reducing the difference from that experienced in real-world driving conditions, than the official fuel efficiency equation used in the past that only considered the driving environment included in FTP and HWFET cycles. There are many factors that bring about divergence between official fuel consumption and that experienced by drivers, such as driving pattern behavior, accumulated mileage, driving environment, and traffic conditions. In this study, we focused on the factor of causing change of fuel efficiency value, calculated according to how many environmental conditions that appear on the real-road are considered, in producing the fuel consumption formula, and that of the vehicle's accumulated mileage in a 2.0 L gasoline-fueled vehicle. So, the goals of this research are divided into four major areas to investigate divergence in fuel efficiency obtained from different equations, and what factors and how much CO2 and CO emissions that are closely correlated to fuel efficiency change, depending on the cumulative mileage of the vehicle. First, the fuel consumption value calculated from the non-adjusted formula, was compared with that calculated from the corrected fuel consumption formula. Also, how much CO2 concentration levels change as measured during each of the three driving cycles was analyzed as the vehicle ages. In addition, since the US06 driving cycle is divided into city mode and highway mode, how much CO2 and CO production levels change as the engine ages during acceleration periods in each mode was investigated. Finally, the empirical formula was constructed using fuel economy values obtained when the test vehicle reached 6500 km, 15,000 km, and 30,000 km cumulative mileage, to predict how much fuel consumption of city and highway would worsen, when mileage of the vehicle is increased further. When cumulative mileage values set in this study were reached, experiments were performed by placing the vehicle on a chassis dynamometer, in compliance with the carbon balance method. A key result of this study is that fuel economy is affected by various fuel consumption formula, as well as by aging of the engine. In particular, with aging aspects, the effect of an aging engine on fuel efficiency is insignificant, depending on the load and driving situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a dual-loop two-step ZQ calibration scheme with a 20-nm DRAM process to support dedicated supply voltages ($V_{DD}$ and $V_{DDQ}$). The proposed calibration scheme improves system signal integrity by maintaining the targeted output level ($V_{\mathrm {OH}}$) in dynamic voltage–frequency scaling (DVFS) function, where $V_{DD}$ and $V_{DDQ}$ can be independently controlled to save system power. A two-step conversion algorithm alleviates the increase in calibration time, which is caused by an additional on-die termination (ODT) calibration for command/address (CA). The offset of a dynamic comparator in a ZQ calibration engine is averaged by a fraction-referred input switching-then-averaging (FISA) scheme which minimizes the effect of kickback noise. A code-referred periodic ZQ update (CPZU) scheme tracks the voltage and temperature variation during the background mode while minimizing the chance of malfunction by interference of both DRAM internal noise and external power noise. By applying the DVFS function based on the device usage by the user scenario in this design ($V_{DD} =1.1$ V and $V_{DDQ} = 0.95$ V) at 1.6 Gbps, the read and the write operating power consumption can be saved by 17.7% and 18.2%, respectively, without a dynamic drop in performance. Therefore, the proposed dual-loop two-step ZQ calibration design improves the overall DRAM power efficiency based on the existing LPDDR4 SDRAM architecture without circuit overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The proposed combined plant-mineral composite coagulant with UV-AOPs can be applied to remove taste and odor compounds and its precursor (algae) in the drinking water system. The seasonal occurrence of algae blooms in surface waters remains a common problem, such as taste and odor (T&Os), the risk of disinfection by-products (DBPs), and disturbance to water treatment systems. The coagulation efficiency of plant-mineral composite (PMC) coagulant followed by UV-based advanced oxidation processes (UV-AOPs; UV/H2O2 and UV/Cl2) was evaluated for removal of algae, turbidity, dissolved organic matters, and taste and odor compounds in lab-scale and pilot-scale tests. In the lab-scale test, coagulation process with 20 mg/L of PMC shows high removal efficiency of turbidity (94%) and algae (99%) and moderate removal efficiency of UV254 (51%) and geosmin (46%). The pilot test results also show good removal efficiency of turbidity (64%), chlorophyll-a (96%). After PMC coagulation process, the major water factors, which affected the performance of UV-AOPs (i.e., UV transmittance (85–94%), and scavenging factor (64,998–28,516 s−1)), were notably improved, and further degradation of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) was achieved in both lab-and pilot-scale tests of the UV-AOPs. The UV/H2O2 process shows higher removal efficiency of geosmin and 2-MIB than the UV/Cl2 process because of the pH effect. The results confirmed that the PMC-based coagulation followed by UV/H2O2 process could be an effective process for the removal of algae, geosmin, and 2-MIB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal conductive composites were fabricated using a boron nitride (BN) filler and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) matrix. To enhance the interfacial affinity, two types of silane curing agents, 3‐aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES) and phenyl triethoxysilane (PTEOS), were introduced onto the BN particle surfaces. The modified BN particles were embedded in a PEN matrix via a melt mixing process using twin extrusion to form APTES@BN and PTEOS@BN composites. The highest thermal conductivity was exhibited at 50 wt% BN (1.41 W/mK), which increased to 1.54 W/mK and 1.63 W/mK when the BN particles were surface treated. These values were 9% and 16% higher than the thermal conductivities of the pure BN and the PEN matrix, respectively. The surface‐treated composite also showed improved storage moduli and tensile strength because of the improved interfacial adhesion and the interaction between the BN filler and the PEN matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:E1692–E1700, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Pharmacotherapy among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is effective, but many patients suffer from secondary psychiatric problems even after improvement of ADHD core symptoms. Hippotherapy have been used as adjunct treatment options for physical and psychosocial rehabilitation as well as to ameliorate core symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Hippotherapy versus pharmacotherapy for children with ADHD. Design: Thirty-four participants with ADHD were randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to either 24 sessions of a twice-weekly hippotherapy or pharmacotherapy. To assess therapeutic effects, the ADHD Rating Scale (ARS) was used pretreatment and posttreatment as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes included the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) child and parent report version, Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ), Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S), and quantitative electroencephalography. Results: Both groups showed marked improvements in ADHD symptoms, CGI-S. No significant differences between groups were detected regarding treatment outcome except thought problem subscales of CBCL. Twelve weeks of hippotherapy improved attention, impulsivity/hyperactivity, and quality of life. Conclusion: This trial is promising, but further studies are required to evaluate the long-term clinical effectiveness of hippotherapy. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT 02482649. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is a promising engineering polymer, which is used for various industrial applications. In this study, we developed a highly thermally conductive PPS composite containing boron nitride (BN) as a thermally conductive ceramic filler. (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane was doped onto the surface of hydroxyl-functionalized BN using a simple sol-gel process. The modified BN particles were embedded in a PPS matrix via a melt mixing process using a twin extruder to form BN-Si composites. The maximum thermal conductivity 3.09 W/m·K was exhibited by the surface-modified BN-Si containing 60 wt%. This value was 116% higher than the thermal conductivities of the pristine BN and PPS matrix, respectively. The surface-treated composites also showed an improved storage modulus because of an improvement in the interfacial adhesion and interaction between the BN filler and the PPS matrix. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irradiation of 9-ester-substituted anthracenes with visible light results in the formation of endoperoxides in the absence of a photocatalyst, which further undergo base-assisted fragmentation to afford anthraquinones. The excited state species of anthracene generated by energy transfer, interacts with 3O2 to afford 1O2 by energy transfer and undergoes cycloaddition with 1O2. By employing palladium(II)-catalyzed and visible light-mediated transformations, we have developed an efficient synthetic protocol for accessing diverse anthraquinones from readily available diaryl carboxylic acids. The optimal result was obtained with palladium(II) acetate, Ac-Ile-OH, benzoquinone and potassium carbonate in tert-amyl alcohol under O2 at 90 °C with irradiation from a 30 W fluorescent light bulb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tendon-driven mechanisms are adopted in remote handling manipulators to reduce the weight of the distal parts of the manipulator while maintaining the handling performance. This study considered several approaches to the design of a gripper system for telemanipulators. According to the requirements of the specified tendon-driven mechanism, the connecting position of the spring system on the gripper mechanism was obtained, and kinematic influence coefficient analysis was performed to select the proper spring stiffness. The results showed that the tension force generated by the selected spring module is relatively constant in the gripper's motion range; the spring module is advantageous for the semi-automatic gripper motion of servo-based tendon-driven manipulators performed in non-accessible experimental facilities which handles many types of sensitive measuring devices with hazardous materials. The motion performance of the proposed gripper module was comparatively verified with a commercialized gripper system which has similar specifications. Additionally, an eye-in-hand camera was also designed to obtain an active-view through a gripper for efficient teleoperation. This gripper system uses a modular-type camera head that can be changed remotely and a proper camera angle to achieve an intuitive view of the remote site. The designed camera system was tested in a large-scale confined cell facility remotely and verified the practical usability for remote handling manipulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A straightforward synthetic strategy for generating useful anthracene derivatives was developed involving palladium(II)-catalyzed tandem transformation with carboxylic acids as traceless directing groups. Carboxyl-directed C-H alkenylation, carboxyl-directed secondary C-H activation and rollover, intramolecular C−C bond formation, and decarboxylative aromatization are proposed as the key steps in the tandem reaction pathway. This novel synthetic route utilizes a broad range of substrates and provides a convenient synthetic tool that allows access to acenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A straightforward synthetic strategy for generating useful anthracene derivatives was developed involving palladium(II)-catalyzed tandem transformation with carboxylic acids as traceless directing groups. Carboxyl-directed C-H alkenylation, carboxyl-directed secondary C-H activation and rollover, intramolecular C−C bond formation, and decarboxylative aromatization are proposed as the key steps in the tandem reaction pathway. This novel synthetic route utilizes a broad range of substrates and provides a convenient synthetic tool that allows access to acenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene nanosheets have attracted considerable attention as ideal reinforcing filler materials for polymer composites due to their superior physical properties. In this paper, to investigate the influence of functionalized graphene on the electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of solderable isotropic conductive adhesives (SICAs) with low-melting-point alloy, three types of SICAs [without and with graphene oxide (GO) and amine-modified GO (GO-NH)] were prepared. All SICA assemblies without and with different functionalized graphene sheets showed excellent electrical and mechanical properties due to the formation of uniform and stable metallurgical conduction paths. The epoxy composite with GO sheets showed superior thermal conductivity to the epoxy composite with GO-NH sheets. Our results demonstrated that graphene sheets within SICAs do not affect the electrical and mechanical properties of SICA joints, and that GO sheets are more suitable for enhancing the thermal conductivities of polymer composites than GO-NH sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the New Look theory, size perception is affected by emotional factors. Although previous studies have attempted to explain the effects of both emotion and motivation on size perception, they have failed to identify the underlying mechanisms. This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of size perception by applying attention toward facial expressions using the Ebbinghaus illusion as a measurement tool. The participants, female university students, were asked to judge the size of a target stimulus relative to the size of facial expressions (i.e., happy, angry, and neutral) surrounding the target. The results revealed that the participants perceived angry and neutral faces to be larger than happy faces. This finding indicates that individuals pay closer attention to neutral and angry faces than happy ones. These results suggest that the mechanisms underlying size perception involve cognitive processes that focus attention toward relevant stimuli and block out irrelevant stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to use an eye-tracking device to investigate attention bias and its mechanism toward high-calorie virtual food in individuals with bulimic tendencies (BT). A total of 76 participants were divided into two groups: a BT group ( n = 38) and a control group ( n = 38). The eye movements of all participants were continuously measured while the participants were confronted with pairs of high-calorie, low-calorie, and nonfood virtual stimuli (pictures). It was found that the BT group detected high-calorie food more quickly than they did the low-calorie food and nonfood stimuli, but they also avoided the high-calorie food. These results indicate that individuals with BT automatically allocate their attention toward high-calorie food and, subsequently, try to avoid it. Based on these results, we suggest that this approach-avoidance pattern for high-calorie virtual food could be a factor in the development and maintenance of bulimia symptoms by encouraging individuals with BT to be in conflict with the urge to overeat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many cnidarians host endosymbiotic dinoflagellates from the genus Symbiodinium. It is generally assumed that the symbiosis is mutualistic, where the host benefits from symbiont photosynthesis while providing protection and photosynthetic substrates. Diverse assemblages of symbiotic gorgonian octocorals can be found in hard bottom communities throughout the Caribbean. While current research has focused on the phylo- and population genetics of gorgonian symbiont types and their photo-physiology, relatively less work has focused on biogeochemical benefits conferred to the host and how these benefits vary across host species. Here we examine this symbiosis among 11 gorgonian species collected in Bocas del Toro, Panama. By coupling light and dark bottle incubations (P/R) with 13C-bicarbonate tracers, we quantified the link between holobiont oxygen metabolism with carbon assimilation and translocation from symbiont to host. Our data show that P/R varied among species, and was correlated with colony morphology and polyp size. Sea fans and sea plumes were net autotrophs (P/R>1.5), while nine species of sea rods were net heterotrophs with most below compensation (P/R<1.0). 13C assimilation corroborated the P/R results, and maximum δ13Chost values were strongly correlated with polyp size, indicating higher productivity by colonies with high polyp SA:V. A survey of gorgonian-Symbiodinium associations revealed that productive species maintain specialized, obligate symbioses and are more resistant to coral bleaching, whereas generalist and facultative associations are common among sea rods that have higher bleaching sensitivities. Overall, productivity and polyp size had strong phylogenetic signals with carbon fixation and polyp size showing evidence of trait covariance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article hypothesizes that if Florida manatees use lot of freshwater production, then the sulfur isotopes of their tissues may show its significance. Florida manatees generally live and feed upon seagrass beds, usually forage at shallow depths, and are considered herbivores. Sulfur isotopes have been used for the identification of marine protein used by freshwater ecosystems.

This study aimed to examine the effects of arousal and expectation on eyewitness memory. We exposed 97 participants to an immersive eyewitness experience by creating four virtual reality stimulus environments. The participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: arousing and expected, arousing and unexpected, nonarousing and expected, and nonarousing and unexpected. The results revealed that memory performance for an arousing encounter was significantly lower than that for a nonarousing encounter, and that memory performance for an unexpected environment was significantly lower compared with an expected one. In addition, memory performance was lowest in the condition that was both arousing and unexpected. No interaction between arousal and expectation was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermoplastic polyurethane (PU) elastomer, prepared from poly(tetramethylene glycol) and methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, was blended with boron nitride (BN) to fabricate a thermally conductive interface material. BN treated by a silane coupling agent (BN-NH2) and PU-grafted BN were prepared to fabricate a composite that has better thermal conductivity and mechanical strength. The surface-modified filler showed enhanced dispersibility and affinity because of the surface treatment with functional groups that affected the surface free energy, along with the structural similarity of the doped crystallized diisocyanate molecule with the matrix. The thermal conductivity increased from 0.349 to 0.467 W mk−1 on 20 wt% PU-grafted BN loading that is a 1.34-fold higher value than in the case of pristine BN loading at the same weight fraction. Moreover, the number of BN particles acting as defects, thereby reducing the mechanical strength, is decreased because of strong adhesion. We can conclude that these composite materials may be promising materials for a significant performance improvement in terms of both the thermal and mechanical properties of PU-based polymers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite first being described from Virginia, the widely distributed brackish water hydrozoan Blackfordia virginica is often hypothesized to have been introduced from the Black Sea to the United States. However, the alternative view that B. virginica was introduced to the Black Sea also persists in the literature. This study investigates the population structure of B. virginica in the United States to assess the directionality and/or the number of introduction events. During 2009 and 2010, estuaries were sampled from Delaware to Louisiana for brackish water hydromedusae. Nineteen samples of Blackfordia virginica were collected from four localities, including a channel running between St. Catherines Island and Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, a region for which it had not been reported prior to this study. We PCR amplified and sequenced two mitochondrial markers (COI & 16S), and one nuclear marker (ITS1). We compared data from individuals collected on the east coast of the United States with individuals collected in California. This revealed low diversity (two haplotypes with a maximal p-difference of 0.03% for COI and just a single haplotype for 16S) and no unique haplotypes at any locality. Low genetic variability, shared haplotypes in disparate localities, and a lack of unique haplotypes in any population are consistent with a founder effect, suggesting a single introduction and subsequent spread throughout the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]