Microscopic origin of bipolar resistive switching of nanoscale titanium oxide thin films

We report a direct observation of the microscopic origin of the bipolar resistive switching behavior in nanoscale titanium oxide films. Through a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, an analytical TEM technique using energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy and an in situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we demonstrated that the oxygen ions piled up at top interface by an oxidation-reduction reaction between the titanium oxide layer and the top Al metal electrode. We also found that the drift of oxygen ions during the on/off switching induced the bipolar resistive switching in the titanium oxide thin films.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Metal/graphene sheets as p-type transparent conducting electrodes in GaN light emitting diodes

We demonstrate the use of graphene based transparent sheets as a p-type current spreading layer in GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs). Very thin Ni/Au was inserted between graphene and p-type GaN to reduce contact resistance, which reduced contact resistance from similar to 5.5 to similar to 0.6 Omega/ cm(2), with no critical optical loss. As a result, LEDs with metal-graphene provided current spreading and injection into the p-type GaN layer, enabling three times enhanced electroluminescent intensity compared with those with graphene alone. We confirmed very strong blue light emission in a large area of the metal-graphene layer by analyzing image brightness.open281

Optimal Multilayer Adaptation of SVC Video over Heterogeneous Environments

Scalable video coding (SVC) is a new video coding format which provides scalability in three-dimensional (spatio-temporal-SNR) space. In this paper, we focus on the adaptation in SNR dimension. Usually, an SVC bitstream may contain multiple spatial layers, and each spatial layer may be enhanced by several FGS layers. To meet a bitrate constraint, the fine-grained scalability (FGS) data of different spatial layers can be truncated in various manners. However, the contributions of FGS layers to the overall/collective video quality are different. In this work, we propose an optimized framework to control the SNR scalability across multiple spatial layers. Our proposed framework has the flexibility in allocating the resource (i.e., bitrate) among spatial layers, where the overall quality is defined as a function of all spatial layers' qualities and can be modified on the fly

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Bangpungtongsung-San, a Traditional Herbal Prescription

Bangpungtongsung-san (BPTS), a traditional oriental herbal prescription, is widely used for expelling wind, draining heat, and providing general improvement to the immune system. In this study, we investigated the effects of BPTS on induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), proinflammatory cytokines, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in lipopolysaccharide- (LPS- ) stimulated Raw 264.7 cells, and on paw edema in rats. At concentrations of 0.5, 0.75, and 1 mg/mL, treatment with BPTS inhibited levels of expression of LPS-induced NF-κB and MAPKs (ERK, JNK, and p38) as well as production of proinflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by LPS. These results suggest that BPTS may exert anti-inflammatory effects via reduction of proinflammatory mediators, including NO, PGE2, TNF-α, and IL-6 through suppression of the signaling pathways of NF-κB and MAPKs in LPS-induced macrophages. In addition, using the carrageenan-induced paw edema assay, an antiedema effect of BPTS was observed in rats. These findings may provide scientific evidence validating the use of BPTS in treatment of patients with heat syndrome in Korean oriental medicine

Multiple Surgical Treatments for Recurrent Retroperitoneal Hemorrhage in a COVID-19 Patient with Respiratory Failure on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) may be required in patients with corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) and respiratory failure. Anticoagulation is the standard treatment to prevent complications of ECMO and COVID-19 coagulopathy, however, there is a risk of bleeding. Some patients with retroperitoneal hemorrhage (RPH) have been treated with angiography-embolization. We report on a patient with COVID-19 on ECMO who underwent multiple operations (×5) for recurrent RPH. A 46-year-old man was admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia. ECMO with anticoagulation therapy was initiated. The patient developed RPH, caused by external compression of the inferior vena cava interrupting the ECMO inflow, and surgical hematoma evacuation was performed, with no obvious bleeding focus during the multiple surgeries. Following the patient’s recovery, a follow-up computed tomography scan showed the hematoma had been resolved, but there was a dilemma regarding anticoagulation. Lowering the threshold for surgical treatment, enabled treatment of a patient with serious RPH