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It is essential to understand the barrier height, ideality factor, and role of inhomogeneities at the metal/semiconductor interfaces in nanowires for the development of next generation nanoscale devices. Here, we investigate the drain current (Ids)–gate voltage (Vgs) characteristics of GaN nanowire wrap-gate transistors (WGTs) for various gate potentials in the wide temperature range of 130–310 K. An anomalous reduction in the experimental barrier height and rise in the ideality factor with reducing the temperature have been perceived. It is noteworthy that the variations in barrier height and ideality factor are attributed to the spatial barrier inhomogeneities at the AlGaN/GaN interface in the GaN nanowire WGTs by assuming a double Gaussian distribution of barrier heights at 310–190 K (distribution 1) and 190–130 K (distribution 2). The standard deviation for distribution 2 is lower than that of distribution 1, which suggests that distribution 2 reflects more homogeneity at the AlGaN/GaN interface in the transistor’s source/drain regions than distribution 1.

Background: In Korea, fetuses are currently assessed using ultrasound data collected from foreign subjects. This study aimed to propose independent reference values for the transverse cerebellar diameter (TCD) in Korean fetuses to predict gestational age (GA) and compare the TCD values among different countries. Methods: A total of 1819 healthy singletons with GAs of 15–37 weeks were retrospectively analyzed. The TCD was measured in the transcerebellar plane of the fetal head. TCD percentiles were calculated for different GAs, and a regression model was created to predict GA. Bland–Altman analysis was performed to examine the differences in the mean TCD and variations in the TCD among different countries. Results: The TCD ranged from 1.48 to 4.76 cm with a mean of 2.7 ± 0.91 cm. In the regression model of TCD (cm) = 0.129 GA (weeks) – 0.527 (95% confidence interval 0.129–0.130, p < 0.001), the TCD explained 98.4% of the variance in GA. Significant differences in the mean TCD were found between Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and India. TCD variations increased as the mean TCD increased. Conclusions: Fetal TCD is an important biometric index for predicting GA. Ethnic differences must be considered when using fetal TCD.

We used capacitance–voltage (C–V), conductance–voltage (G–V), and noise measurements to examine the carrier trap mechanisms at the surface/core of an AlGaN/GaN nanowire wrap-gate transistor (WGT). When the frequency is increased, the predicted surface trap density promptly drops, with values ranging from 9.1 × 1013 eV−1∙cm−2 at 1 kHz to 1.2 × 1011 eV−1∙cm−2 at 1 MHz. The power spectral density exhibits 1/f-noise behavior in the barrier accumulation area and rises with gate bias, according to the 1/f-noise features. At lower frequencies, the device exhibits 1/f-noise behavior, while beyond 1 kHz, it exhibits 1/f2-noise behavior. Additionally, when the fabricated device governs in the deep-subthreshold regime, the cutoff frequency for the 1/f2-noise features moves to the subordinated frequency (~102 Hz) side.

Abstract Background Gut microbiota closely communicate in the immune system to maintain a balanced immune homeostasis in the gastrointestinal tract of the host. Oral administration of probiotics modulates gut microbiota composition. In the present study, we isolated Lactobacillus rhamnosus HDB1258, which induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-10 expression in macrophages, from the feces of breastfeeding infants and examined how HDB1258 could regulate the homeostatic immune response in mice with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammation. Results Oral administration of HDB1258 significantly increased splenic NK cell cytotoxicity, peritoneal macrophage phagocytosis, splenic and colonic TNF-α expression, TNF-α to IL-10 expression ratio, and fecal IgA level in control mice, while Th1 and Treg cell differentiation was not affected in the spleen. However, HDB1258 treatment significantly suppressed peritoneal macrophage phagocytosis and blood prostaglandin E2 level in mice with LPS-induced systemic inflammation. Its treatment increased LPS-suppressed ratios of Treg to Th1 cell population, Foxp3 to T-bet expression, and IL-10 to TNF-α expression. Oral administration of HDB1258 significantly decreased LPS-induced colon shortening, myeloperoxidase activity and NF-κB+/CD11c+ cell population in the colon, while the ratio of IL-10 to TNF-α expression increased. Moreover, HDB1258 treatment shifted gut microbiota composition in mice with and without LPS-induced systemic inflammation: it increased the Cyanobacteria and PAC000664_g (belonging to Bacteroidetes) populations and reduced Deferribacteres and EU622763_s group (belonging to Bacteroidetes) populations. In particular, PAC001066_g and PAC001072_s populations were negatively correlated with the ratio of IL-10 to TNF-α expression in the colon, while the PAC001070_s group population was positively correlated. Conclusions Oral administered HDB1258 may enhance the immune response by activating innate immunity including to macrophage phagocytosis and NK cell cytotoxicity in the healthy host and suppress systemic inflammation in the host with inflammation by the modulation of gut microbiota and IL-10 to TNF-α expression ratio in immune cells.

Piping systems operating under various conditions may cause extremely unstable structural stress and deformation, leading to permanent deformation and damage to the piping structure, bringing about serious safety problems. So, piping stress analysis shall be performed along with proper design. Meanwhile, structural instability due to local stress concentration, which is one of the main interests of stress analysis, can be resolved through the appropriate selection of constraint conditions of piping supports at a relatively low cost. However, selecting an appropriate combination of constraints is time-consuming because analysis results are derived through many iterations. In addition, there is a big difference in the quality of the final design according to the experiences and capabilities of engineers. As a solution to this situation, this paper introduces a reinforcement learning strategy for deriving the optimal combination of constraints of piping supports. Primarily, we suggest applying the Actor-Critic(AC) learning algorithm for this problem, which is a type of reinforcement learning that has recently been in the spotlight for this problem because it can evaluate an action policy directly by the on-policy method inside the AC algorithm. During learning, it traces the correspondence between State and Action and suggests appropriate labeling criteria. We present the suitability and usefulness of the algorithm applied to the pipe stress analysis procedure through comparative verification between the results derived from the well-trained AC model and the results accomplished by engineers.

Semiconductor-based heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation processes have received considerable attention for the remediation of toxic pollutants. Herein, InVO4/NiFe2O4 nanocomposites were synthesized using a facile hydrothermal technique. Furthermore, various characterization results revealed the successful loading of NiFe2O4 nanoplates over InVO4 nanosheets, thereby signifying the formation of a heterostructure. The performance of the synthesized photocatalyst was tested for tetracycline (TC) antibiotic removal. The optimized InVO4/NiFe2O4 nanocomposite exhibits maximum photodegradation of TC molecules (96.68%) in 96 min; this is approximately 6.47 and 4.93 times higher than that observed when using NiFe2O4 and InVO4, respectively. The strong interaction between the InVO4 nanosheets and NiFe2O4 nanoplates can improve the visible-light absorption and hinder the recombination of charge carriers, further enhancing the photocatalytic performance. Moreover, hydroxyl radicals play a crucial role in the photodegradation of TC antibiotics.

In this study, a low-cost bioadsorbent aluminum metal blended with groundnut shell activated carbon material (Al-GNSC) was used for Cr(VI) adsorption from aqueous solutions. Al-GNSC was prepared and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine its surface morphology. Batch studies were performed and the optimum conditions for maximum Cr(VI) removal (of 94.2%) were found at pH 4.0, initial concentration 100 mg/L, adsorbent dosage 8 g/L of Cr(VI) solution, and time of contact 50 min. Moreover, the Langmuir isotherm model (maximum adsorption capacity of 13.458 mg/g) was the best fit and favored the mono-layered Cr(VI) adsorption. The kinetic studies reveal that the pseudo-second-order model was the best fit and favored chemisorption as the rate-limiting step. The desorption study revealed that Cr(VI) leached with sodium hydroxide solution acted as a regenerating agent. It is proved that Al-GNSC removes the Cr(VI) content in groundwater samples. The methodology developed using the Al-GNSC adsorbent as an alternative for the adsorption of Cr(VI) ions is remarkably successful in this study.

Based on an analysis of the signal characteristics of gas sensors, this work presents a chemoresistive sensor readout circuit design for detecting gases with slow response time characteristics. The proposed readout circuit directly generates a reference voltage corresponding to the initial value of the gas sensor and extracts only the amount of gas concentration change in the sensor. Because the proposed readout circuit can adaptively regenerate the suitable reference voltage under various changing ambient conditions, it can alleviate the variation in output values at the same gas concentration caused by non-uniformities among gas sensors. Furthermore, this readout circuit effectively eliminates the initial value shifts due to the poor reproducibility of the gas sensor itself without requiring complex digital signal calibrations. This work focuses on a commercially viable readout circuit structure that can effectively obtain slow response gas information without requiring a large capacitor. The proposed readout circuit operation was verified by simulations using spectre in cadence simulation software. It was then implemented on a printed circuit board with discrete components to confirm the effectiveness with existing gas sensor systems and its commercial viability.

We synthesized phenylboronic acid pinacol ester (PBPE)-conjugated hyaluronic acid (HA) via thiobis(ethylamine) (TbEA) linkage (abbreviated as HAsPBPE conjugates) to fabricate the radiosensitive delivery of caffeic acid phenetyl ester (CAPE) and for application in radioprotection. PBPE was primarily conjugated with TbEA and then PBPE-TbEA conjugates were conjugated again with hyaluronic acid using carbodiimide chemistry. CAPE-incorporated nanoparticles of HAsPBPE were fabricated by the nanoprecipitation method and then the organic solvent was removed by dialysis. CAPE-incorporated HAsPBPE nanoparticles have a small particle size of about 80 or 100 nm and they have a spherical shape. When CAPE-incorporated HAsPBPE nanoparticles were irradiated, nanoparticles became swelled or disintegrated and their morphologies were changed. Furthermore, the CAPE release rate from HAsPBPE nanoparticles were increased according to the radiation dose, indicating that CAPE-incorporated HAsPBPE nanoparticles have radio-sensitivity. CAPE and CAPE-incorporated HAsPBPE nanoparticles appropriately prevented radiation-induced cell death and suppressed intracellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). CAPE and CAPE-incorporated HAsPBPE nanoparticles efficiently improved survivability of mice from radiation-induced death and reduced apoptotic cell death. We suggest that HAsPBPE nanoparticles are promising candidates for the radio-sensitive delivery of CAPE.

Various offshore structures such as FPSO, FSO, Semi-submersible, TLP and Spar are operated to develop offshore oil and gas fields. Most of the offshore structures shall be operated over 20 years under the harsh environments at sites so that the offshore structures should be designed to endure the harsh environments. In this study, the effect of the impact load (so called slapping load) by the steep waves acting on the FPSO bow is investigated through the model test. For measurement of the impact pressures on the frontal area, a bow-shaped panel was fabricated, and installed the pressure sensors on the bow starboard side of the model FPSO. During the model test campaign, the impact load was investigated using the steep waves with Hs/λ greater than 1/16 of the representative wave condition. Consequently, it is confirmed through the model test that the impact loads acting on the FPSO bow are significantly increased with the steep waves (Hs/λ > 1/16) than the representative wave conditions of a maximum significant wave height and a pitch forcing period. Therefore, for safe design of North Sea FPSO, it is necessary to consider the steep waves in addition to the representative wave conditions and to be applied as proper structural load. Also, the effect of random seeds in irregular waves should be considered to build the safe FPSO.

The objective of this study is to investigate the energy savings and economics of the hot water supply system for the luxury resort. The hot water was generated using the waste heat from the exhaust gas heat (EGH) of internal combustion engine (ICE) installed at the luxury resort. The capacity and characteristics of waste heat source, flow demand and supply system of hot water were surveyed, and data is collected from the real system. The new heat exchanger system which utilizes the EGH to produce the hot water is designed considering the dew point temperature and the back pressure of exhaust gas system. The results show that the proposed system could supply hot water at a temperature of 55 °C corresponding to the present resort demand of 6 m3/h using EGH of ICE at 20% load. The proposed system could achieve the saving of 400 L/day in diesel oil (DO) fuel consumption and the payback time of new system could be evaluated as 9 months. The proposed system could produce hot water of 14 m3/h at 25% of engine load and 29 m3/h at full engine load which are sufficient to satisfy the regular and maximum hot water demand of resort. The presented results show the capability of the proposed system to satisfy the current hot water demand of resort and suggest the larger potential to save energy by recovering EGH of ICE. The novelty of the present work involves detailed methodology to design heat exchangers and evaluate system economics for hot water supply system based on EGH of ICE.

The objective of the present study is to conduct experiments for investigating heating performances of integrated system with serial and parallel circuits for battery and heating ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) of electric vehicles under various operating conditions. In addition, the artificial neural network (ANN) model is proposed to accurately predict the heating performances of integrated system with serial and parallel circuits for battery and HVAC. A test bench of integrated system with serial and parallel circuits has been developed for establishing the trade-off between battery heating and HVAC heating. The heating performances namely, battery out temperature, battery temperature rise rate, battery heating capacity, HVAC heating capacity and total heating capacity are evaluated experimentally for the integrated system with serial and parallel circuits. The behavior of various heating performances is evaluated under influence of flow rate and heater power. Battery out temperature reaches 40 °C within 10 min with rise rate of 2.17 °C/min for the integrated system with serial circuit and that within 20 min with rise rate of 1.22 °C/min for the integrated system with parallel circuit. Integrated system with serial circuit shows higher HVAC heating capacity than integrated system with parallel circuit which are 5726.33 W and 3869.15 W, respectively. ANN model with back-propagation algorithm, Levenberg-Marquardt training variant, Tan-sigmoidal transfer function and 20 hidden neurons presents the accurate prediction of heating performances of the integrated system with serial and parallel circuits for battery and HVAC.

The article aimed to analytically investigate the thermophysical behaviors of a ferrofluid in a vertical rectangle with the variation of intensity of the magnetic field, viscosity of the ferrofluid and boundary conditions. The governing equations of the ferrofluid include the continuity, momentum and energy equations for describing the thermal-fluidic behaviors of the ferrofluid and the Maxwell equation and magnetization equation are also added to consider rotating effect of the nano-sized particles. The flow behavior and heat transfer characteristics of the ferrofluid with the intensity of the magnetic field, viscosities of the ferrofluid and boundary conditions were analyzed through isotherms, velocity profiles and both mean and local Nusselt numbers. As a result, the isotherms of the ferrofluid in the vertical rectangle increased with the increase of the magnetic volume fractions and magnetic field intensities. In addition, the mean Nusselt numbers increased with the increase of magnetite volume fractions at all magnetic field intensities because of the combined effects of both heat conduction by magnetite and the magnetic volume force.

The human B12 trafficking chaperone hCblC is well conserved inmammals and non-mammalian eukaryotes. However, the C-terminal∼40 amino acids of hCblC vary significantly and arepredicted to be deleted by alternative splicing of the encodinggene. In this study, we examined the thermostability of the bovineCblC truncated at the C-terminal variable region (t-bCblC) and itsregulation by glutathione. t-bCblC is highly thermolabile (Tm =∼42oC) similar to the full-length protein (f-bCblC). However,t-bCblC is stabilized to a greater extent than f-bCblC by binding ofreduced glutathione (GSH) with increased sensitivity to GSH. Inaddition, binding of oxidized glutathione (GSSG) destabilizest-bCblC to a greater extent and with increased sensitivity ascompared to f-bCblC. These results indicate that t-bCblC is a moresensitive form to be regulated by glutathione than the full-lengthform of the protein. [BMB Reports 2013; 46(3): 169-174]

The objective of this study was to provide experimental data that could be used to predict frost growth and frost performance of a round plate fin-tube heat exchanger for low temperature heat pumps used in zero emission vehicles under cold weather conditions. In this study, round plate fin-tube heat exchangers were tested with variation of the fin space, air flow rate, relative humidity, and inlet air temperature. Frost height was measured and considered with the boundary layer interruption between fins. Frost height for 8.0 mm of fin space was increased by approximately 91.9% with an increase of relative humidity from 50.0% to 80.0%. The growth rate of frost height at 1.2 m3/min was observed to be 13.0% greater than that at 0.8 m3/min. Finally, the variation of the blockage ratio with fin space would be an important reference for designing advanced heat exchangers that operate under cold weather conditions.

A compact vertical scanner for an atomic force microscope (AFM) is developed. The vertical scanner is designed to have no interference with the optical microscope for viewing the cantilever. The theoretical stiffness and resonance of the scanner are derived and verified via finite element analysis. An optimal design process that maximizes the resonance frequency is performed. To evaluate the scanner’s performance, experiments are performed to evaluate the travel range, resonance frequency, and feedback noise level. In addition, an AFM image using the proposed vertical scanner is generated.

We present a compliance matrix for a single-bent leaf flexure (SBLF) that shows the relationships between the deformations and the six-axis loads applied to the SBLF. Higher-order beam theory that considers the variable shear and warping effect is considered in bending. The partially restrained warping at the junction between elements is also considered in torsion. The total strain energy is calculated, and the complete compliance matrix is derived by using Castigliano’s second theorem. Sensitivity analyses over the compliance elements are performed and verified via finite element analysis (FEA). The results show that the derived compliance elements are in good agreement with FEA, with errors of less than 7.6%. We suggest that theoretical compliance elements considering variable shear and warping in bending and partially restrained warping in torsion give highly accurate design equations representing the compliant mechanism of the SBLF. The present work could be used in a modal analysis of a single-bent leaf flexure.

With the reinforced ODP and GWP regulations, clean refrigerants including CO 2 , energy saving technology for fuel economy, especially focused on development and control strategy for the effective air conditioning system, and heat pump for vehicles have been widely investigated. Recently, the automotive CO 2 heat pump for the next generation vehicles as an alternative to that of internal combustion engines has been evaluated and studied as a good option. In this paper, first part is reviewed on the performance characteristics and improvement articles for the conventional automotive air conditioning systems and individual components as well as various alternative refrigerant articles for conventional automotive air conditioning systems. Second part deals with the feasibility of the automotive CO 2 heat pump for next generation vehicles without internal combustion engines.

We developed and tested a novel rotation scanner for nano resolution and accurate rotary motion about the rotation center. The scanner consists of circular hinges and leaf springs so that the parasitic error at the center of the scanner in the X and Y directions is minimized, and rotation performance is optimized. Each sector of the scanner's system was devised to have nano resolution by minimizing the parasitic errors of the rotation center that arise due to displacements other than rotation. The analytic optimal design results of the proposed scanner were verified using finite element analyses. The piezoelectric actuators were used to attain nano-resolution performances, and a capacitive sensor was used to measure displacement. A feedback controller was used to minimize the rotation errors in the rotation scanner system under practical conditions. Finally, the performance evaluation test results showed that the resonance frequency was 542 Hz, the resolution was 0.09 μ rad, and the rotation displacement was 497.2 μ rad. Our test results revealed that the rotation scanner exhibited accurate rotation about the center of the scanner and had good nano precision.

Background: Physical skeletal loading can affect the bone mineral density (BMD). This study investigated the association between BMD and dynamic foot pressure during gait. Methods: A total of 104 patients (mean age, 62.6 ± 12.4 years; 23 male and 81 female) who underwent dual x-ray absorptiometry and pedobarography were included. BMD values of the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total femur were assessed. The mean and maximum pressures were measured at the hallux, lesser toes, 1st metatarsal head, 2nd and 3rd metatarsal heads, 4th and 5th metatarsal heads, midfoot, medial heel, and lateral heel. Multivariable regression analysis was performed to identify factors significantly associated with BMD. Results: The lumbar spine BMD was significantly associated with the mean pressure at the 4th and 5th metatarsal heads (p = 0.041, adjusted R2 of model = 0.081). The femoral neck BMD was significantly associated with the maximum pressure at the 2nd and 3rd metatarsal heads (p = 0.002, adjusted R2 = 0.213). The total femoral BMD also showed a significant association with the maximum pressure at the 2nd and 3rd metatarsal heads (p = 0.003, adjusted R2 = 0.360). Conclusions: Foot plantar pressure during gait was significantly associated with BMD, and could potentially be used to predict the presence of osteoporosis. Level of Evidence: Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteochondromas are benign bone tumors typically found in the metaphyseal region of long bones. These tumors are often asymptomatic and detected incidentally. However, their occurrence in atypical sites such as the talus can pose significant diagnostic and treatment challenges. This report describes a rare case of osteochondroma of the medial tubercle of the talus, which is an unprecedented location based on a review of relevant literature. A 28-year-old male presented with worsening medial ankle pain and limping. Imaging revealed a lesion consistent with osteochondroma contributing to medial ankle impingement syndrome. Uniquely, this case also featured a coinciding gout attack in the ankle joint. Surgical removal of the lesion resulted in significant symptom relief and functional improvement. This case underscores the need to consider rare diagnoses, such as talar osteochondroma, when presented with persistent medial ankle pain and highlights the potential presence of concurrent conditions, such as gout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]