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High-temperature superconductivity (HTS), occurring above 77 K, promises significant advancements in energy-efficient technologies. Despite extensive research, a comprehensive understanding of HTS remains elusive, and discovering new materials or mechanisms has been largely serendipitous. This study presents a novel explanation for HTS, focusing on manipulating phonon-mediated electron pairing through enhancing electron-phonon coupling and optimizing phonon density of states (DOS). The proposed approach provides a systematic pathway for designing materials exhibiting HTS. Experimental results confirm successful realization of HTS in a new class of materials, termed "phonon-engineered superconductors" (PESCs), offering a promising platform for future research and technological advancements.

IntroductionIn daily life, people encounter a wide range of odors, most of which contain multiple chemical substances. So-called bimodal odors stimulate both the olfactory and trigeminal nerve, and the interaction between these two systems shapes the perception of the odor. However, temporal encoding of these sensory systems during bimodal odor processing has received limited scientific attention.MethodsTo investigate this, we recorded the electrophysiological response in 17 participants to relatively unimodal olfactory (strawberry), trigeminal (l-isopulegol) and strongly bimodal (strawberry and l-isopulegol) stimuli.ResultsERP amplitudes and intensity ratings were significantly bigger for bimodal stimulation, as compared to unimodal stimulations. No significant difference was observed between N1 and P2 response latencies to olfactory and bimodal stimuli while responses to both stimuli showed longer latencies compared to the response of the trigeminal stimulus.ConclusionsResults provide further evidence of interaction between olfactory and trigeminal systems; additional activation of the olfactory system results in more vigorous electrophysiological responses and the experience of higher intensity. In addition, results indicate that the trigeminal system is faster to react to stimulation.ImplicationsThe current study offers a view on the temporal processing of bimodal odorants that are most likely to be encountered in the environment. We link the more vigorous electrophysiological response to a more complex odorant with activation of different neural structures.

Hiding information in image has been proposed as a methodology for transmitting messages through innocuous covers to conceal their existence. This work investigates current state-of-the-art methods and provides a new and efficient approach to digital image steganography. We proposed an asymmetric image steganographic method based on a chaotic dynamic system. The hidden message can be recovered using orbits different from the embedding orbits, and the original image is not required to extract the hidden message. In the real communication, the receiver can use the same system as well as retrieving the data back that has been hidden inside the image. However, a secret key is needed by the receiver in order to retrieve the data back. This secret key is generated to use the proposed algorithm during the process of hiding the data. In contrast to current method, by using the secret key to retrieve the data, it maintains privacy, confidentiality, and accuracy of the data. The experimental results on USC data base demonstrates that the proposed encryption algorithm has a low time complexity and has the advantages of large key space and high security. In addition, the discussions reveal that the proposed scheme possesses security, imperceptibility, and survivability. The results are promising and point to the advocacy and coherence of the developed algorithm.

Objective:To compare the effects of routine nasal packing with polyvinyl acetal sponge (Merocel) versus no packing, after endoscopic sinus surgery for nasal polyposis.Subjects and methods:This clinical, randomised, controlled trial was performed in an academic tertiary referral centre between 2008 and 2011. Sixty patients with resistant nasal polyposis underwent endoscopic sinus surgery, and were then randomly divided into two groups: packed and non-packed. The amount of bleeding and pain in each group during pack removal was documented.Results:There was no significant difference between the two groups in the outcome of surgery and complications. One patient in each group needed extra packing. In the packed group, the mean ± standard deviation pain score on pack removal was 61 ± 3 (using a visual analogue scale in which 0 = no pain and 100 = worst pain imaginable).Conclusion:This study found no significant difference between polyvinyl acetal packed and non-packed groups, following endoscopic sinus surgery for nasal polyposis. This confirms the findings of similar studies, and supports the reconsideration of routine post-operative packing in selected cases.

The authors would like to make corrections to the name of an author and the affiliations representing the authors. Namely, we would like to change the spelling of Johnathan Warr to its correct spelling of Jonathan Warr as shown above.

In this study, we demonstrate that the in vitro interactions between a CD56neg/CD16pos (CD56neg) subset of natural killer (NK) cells and autologous dendritic cells (DCs) from HIV-1–infected viremic but not aviremic individuals are markedly impaired and likely interfere with the development of an effective immune response. Among the defective interactions are abnormalities in the process of reciprocal NK–DC activation and maturation as well as a defect in the NK cell–mediated editing or elimination of immature DCs (iDCs). Notably, the lysis of mature DCs (mDCs) by autologous NK cells was highly impaired even after the complete masking of major histocompatibility complex I molecules, suggesting that the defective elimination of autologous iDCs is at the level of activating NK cell receptors. In this regard, the markedly impaired expression/secretion and function of NKp30 and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, particularly among the CD56neg NK cell subset, largely accounts for the highly defective NK cell–mediated lysis of autologous iDCs. Moreover, mDCs generated from HIV-1 viremic but not aviremic patients are substantially impaired in their ability to secrete interleukin (IL)-10 and -12 and to prime the proliferation of neighboring autologous NK cells, which, in turn, fail to secrete adequate amounts of interferon-γ.

An all ink-jet-deposited process capable of creating high-quality passive devices suitable for an RFID front-end is described. Gold nanocrystals are printed to create conductive lines with sheet resistance as low as 23 m/spl Omega/ per square. Optimal printing conditions are found for polyimide dielectric layers and films as thin as 340 nm are produced. These results are used to create spiral inductors, interconnect, and parallel plate capacitors.