Invited; CMOS inverters and circuits based on oxide thin-film transistors

Thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on oxide semiconductors have the advantage of promising carrier mobilities and good switching characteristics, and they can be fabricated by low-temperature and scalable processes. Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology employing oxide TFTs shows great potential in enabling flexible electronics with versatile functionalities and low-static power consumptions. Here flexible CMOS inverters comprising p-type SnO TFTs and n-type ZnO or IGZO TFTs integrated in three different configurations were implemented and compared, as shown in Fig. 1. First, the planar inverter comprising bottom-gated SnO and ZnO TFTs with a geometric aspect ratio, (W/L)p / (W/L)n, of 5 had a static voltage gain of ~ 10 V/V at a supplied voltage (VDD) of 10 V [1]. However, the gain decreased as the inverter was subjected to a mechanical tensile strain, which may be ascribed to the degradation of TFT mobilities. Please click Download on the upper right corner to see the full abstract

State Variation in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the anus incidence and Mortality, and association With Hiv/Aids and Smoking in the United States

PURPOSE: Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) incidence and mortality rates are rising in the United States. Understanding state-level incidence and mortality patterns and associations with smoking and AIDS prevalence (key risk factors) could help unravel disparities and provide etiologic clues. METHODS: Using the US Cancer Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics data sets, we estimated state-level SCCA incidence and mortality rates. Rate ratios (RRs) were calculated to compare incidence and mortality in 2014-2018 versus 2001-2005. The correlations between SCCA incidence with current smoking (from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) and AIDS (from the HIV Surveillance system) prevalence were evaluated using Spearman\u27s rank correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Nationally, SCCA incidence and mortality rates (per 100,000) increased among men (incidence, 2.29-3.36, mortality, 0.46-0.74) and women (incidence, 3.88-6.30, mortality, 0.65-1.02) age ≥ 50 years, but decreased among men age \u3c 50 years and were stable among similar-aged women. In state-level analysis, a marked increase in incidence (≥ 1.5-fold for men and ≥ two-fold for women) and mortality (≥ two-fold) for persons age ≥ 50 years was largely concentrated in the Midwestern and Southeastern states. State-level SCCA incidence rates in recent years (2014-2018) among men were correlated ( CONCLUSION: During 2001-2005 to 2014-2018, SCCA incidence and mortality nearly doubled among men and women age ≥ 50 years living in Midwest and Southeast. State variation in AIDS and smoking patterns may explain variation in SCCA incidence. Improved and targeted prevention is needed to combat the rise in SCCA incidence and mitigate magnifying geographic disparities

Dengue-1 Envelope Protein Domain III along with PELC and CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides Synergistically Enhances Immune Responses

The major weaknesses of subunit vaccines are their low immunogenicity and poor efficacy. Adjuvants can help to overcome some of these inherent defects with subunit vaccines. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of the newly developed water-in-oil-in-water multiphase emulsion system, termed PELC, in potentiating the protective capacity of dengue-1 envelope protein domain III. Unlike aluminum phosphate, dengue-1 envelope protein domain III formulated with PELC plus CpG oligodeoxynucleotides induced neutralizing antibodies against dengue-1 virus and increased the splenocyte secretion of IFN-γ after in vitro re-stimulation. The induced antibodies contained both the IgG1 and IgG2a subclasses. A rapid anamnestic neutralizing antibody response against a live dengue virus challenge was elicited at week 26 after the first immunization. These results demonstrate that PELC plus CpG oligodeoxynucleotides broaden the dengue-1 envelope protein domain III-specific immune responses. PELC plus CpG oligodeoxynucleotides is a promising adjuvant for recombinant protein based vaccination against dengue virus

Classifying hand sensorimotor functions of the chronic kidney disease patients using novel manual tactile test and pinch-holding-up activity.

Hand function deterioration brings about inconvenience to the daily lives of the chronic kidney disease patients. However, a full spectrum of hand function examination is absent. Therefore, this study aimed to classify the hand sensorimotor functions of the chronic kidney disease patients using the novel sensorimotor assessment tools, manual tactile test (MTT) and pinch-holding-up activity (PHUA) test, and explore the feasibility in comparison with traditional evaluations in the clinical practice. 68 stage-5 chronic kidney disease patients and 50 healthy subjects were recruited in this study. A series of conventional evaluations and two novel hand function tools, manual tactile test and pinch-holding-up activity test were conducted from the perspective of hand dexterity, sensory input threshold, force generation and sensorimotor control. Independent t-test was used to find out group differences and the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to determine accuracy of the tests. In our results, significant reduction of hand dexterity, sensory input, force generation and sensorimotor control was found in patients from an overall perspective. This trend was discovered to be the same when dividing the subjects into the old and young age group. From the receiver operator characteristic curves, nearly all the areas under the curve of all tests were over 0.8. The novel evaluation tools, the manual tactile test and pinch-holding-up activity, were found to have comparable or even better accuracy than the traditional ones. The shape and weight subtests of the manual tactile test displayed the highest accuracy. To sum up, by incorporating the novel and conventional assessment tests, this study built up the fundamental understanding of the hand functions in multiple dimensions and consolidate the clinical merits of applying the two novel tools, manual tactile test and pinch-holding-up activity, on chronic kidney disease patients

Distinguish different sensorimotor performance of the hand between the individuals with diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease through deep learning models

Diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease represent escalating global epidemics with comorbidities akin to neuropathies, resulting in various neuromuscular symptoms that impede daily performance. Interestingly, previous studies indicated differing sensorimotor functions within these conditions. If assessing sensorimotor features can effectively distinguish between diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease, it could serve as a valuable and non-invasive indicator for early detection, swift screening, and ongoing monitoring, aiding in the differentiation between these diseases. This study classified diverse diagnoses based on motor performance using a novel pinch-holding-up-activity test and machine learning models based on deep learning. Dataset from 271 participants, encompassing 3263 hand samples across three cohorts (healthy adults, diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease), formed the basis of analysis. Leveraging convolutional neural networks, three deep learning models were employed to classify healthy adults, diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease based on pinch-holding-up-activity data. Notably, the testing set displayed accuracies of 95.3% and 89.8% for the intra- and inter-participant comparisons, respectively. The weighted F1 scores for these conditions reached 0.897 and 0.953, respectively. The study findings underscore the adeptness of the dilation convolutional neural networks model in distinguishing sensorimotor performance among individuals with diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and healthy adults. These outcomes suggest discernible differences in sensorimotor performance across the diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and healthy cohorts, pointing towards the potential of rapid screening based on these parameters as an innovative clinical approach

Solid-state fermented okara with Aspergillus spp. improves lipid metabolism and high-fat diet induced obesity

Okara is a major by-product of soymilk and tofu production. Despite retaining abundant nutrients after the process, okara is often under-utilized. In this study, solid-state fermentation (SSF) of okara was carried out using a koji starter (containing both Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae) with the intention of releasing its untapped nutrients. Its effects on lipid metabolism in diet-induced obesity (DIO) were observed. The nutritional profile of fermented okara was elucidated using the following parameters: total phenolic content (TPC), pH, protein content, dietary fiber, amino acid content, and free sugar content. In vivo experiments were conducted using high-fat diets supplemented with unfermented okara and fermented okara over three weeks. Supplementation with fermented okara reduced body weight gain, adipose tissue weight, the serum triglyceride profile, and lipid accumulation in the liver, and altered the mRNA expression levels related to lipid metabolism; however, it did not affect pH and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production in this study. In conclusion, high-fat diets supplemented using okara fermented with Aspergillus spp. improved the lipid metabolism in mice, due to their high nutritional value, such as TPC, soy protein, and amino acids, and their synergistic effects without altering the gut microbiota.Nanyang Technological UniversitySubmitted/Accepted versionThis work was partially supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (Kiban A) (S. Shibata), the JST-Mirai Program (grant number: JMPJM120D5) (S. Shibata), and Nanyang Technological University SUG (C.-L.K.Lee)

A study of unsaturated pyrazolate-bridged diruthenium carbonyl complexes

The reaction of Ru3(CO)12 with approximately 3 equiv of 3,5-di-tert-butylpyrazole, (dbpz)H, in hexane at 170 C in a stainless steel autoclave afforded the unsaturated, pyrazolate-bridged diruthenium complex [Ru2(CO)5(dbpz)2] (2). The spectroscopic and structural analysis indicated that this compound contains a vacant coordination site at one axial position trans to the Ru-Ru linkage. This compound reacted with CO at room temperature to give the saturated complex [Ru2(CO)6(dbpz)2] (1b); its structure is analogous to that of the previously determined complexes [Ru2(CO)6(pz)2], pz = pyrazolate and 3,5-dimethyl pyrazolate, except that the equatorial CO ligands show a skew arrangement, an indication of steric constraints within the coordination sphere. Treatment of 2 with benzyl isocyanide or with pyridine in toluene leads to the formation of substitution products [Ru2(CO)4(L)(dbpz)2], L = CNCH2Ph and pyridine, in which the incoming donor ligand occupies an equatorial position at the saturated Ru center. The structural significance of this pyrazolate-bridged diruthenium complex 2 is discussed.NRC publication: Ye

Fluorinated aminoalkoxide CuII complexes : new CVD precursors for deposition of copper metal

Volatile low-melting CuII metal complexes of formula Cu[OC(CF3)R1CH2NHR2]2 (R1= CF3 or CH3; R2= CH2CH2OMe, Bui, or But) and Cu[OC(CF3)R1CH2NMe2]2 (R1= CF3 or CH3) have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic methods. A single-crystal X-ray diffraction study on Cu[OC(CF3)2CH2NHCH2CH2OMe]2 shows that one methoxyethyl group of the aminoalkoxide ligand forms an intramolecular dative bond to the Cu atom to produce a square-pyramidal geometry at the metal center, while the second is linked to the Cu atom of the adjacent molecule, giving an N2O4 octahedral coordination arrangement. For the second Bui-substituted complex, Cu[OC(CF3)2CH2NHBui]2, the X-ray structural analysis demonstrated an N2O2 square-planar geometry, with one alkoxide oxygen atom forming strong H-bonding to an adjacent water molecule. Metal CVD experiments were carried out, showing that the source reagents Cu[OC(CF3)2CH2NHBui]2, Cu[OC(CF3)2CH2NHBut]2, and Cu[OCMe(CF3)CH2NHBui]2, which possess a secondary amino group, are capable of depositing copper metal at temperatures of 250-300 [degree]C under inert Ar carrier gas, while Cu[OCMe(CF3)CH2NMe2]2, with a tertiary amine group, requires the use of reductive H2 carrier gas to induce metal deposition at lower temperatures.NRC publication: Ye