A Lookahead Read Cache: Improving Read Performance for Deduplication Backup Storage

Data deduplication (dedupe for short) is a special data compression technique. It has been widely adopted to save backup time as well as storage space, particularly in backup storage systems. Therefore, most dedupe research has primarily focused on improving dedupe write performance. However, backup storage dedupe read performance is also a crucial problem for storage recovery. This paper designs a new dedupe storage read cache for backup applications that improves read performance by exploiting a special characteristic: the read sequence is the same as the write sequence. Consequently, for better cache utilization, by looking ahead for future references within a moving window, it evicts victims from the cache having the smallest future access. Moreover, to further improve read cache performance, it maintains a small log buffer to judiciously cache future access data chunks. Extensive experiments with real-world backup workloads demonstrate that the proposed read cache scheme improves read performance by up to 64.3%     

Porous Hollow‐Structured LaNiO3 Stabilized N,S‐Codoped Graphene as an Active Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

A nanohybrid based on porous and hollow interior structured LaNiO₃ stabilized nitrogen and sulfur codoped graphene (LaNiO₃/N,S‐Gr) is successfully synthesized for the first time. Such a nanohybrid as an electrocatalyst shows high catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in O₂‐saturated 0.1 m KOH media. In addition, it demonstrates a comparable catalytic activity, longer working stability, and much better alcohol tolerance compared with commercial Pt/C behavior in same experiment condition. The obtained results are attributed to synergistic effects from the enhanced electrocatalytic active sites on the rich pore channels of porous hollow‐structured LaNiO₃ spheres and heteroatom doped efficiency on graphene structure. In addition, N,S‐Gr can meritoriously stabilize monodispersion of the LaNiO₃ spheres, and act as medium bridging for high electrical conductivity, thereby providing large active surface area for O₂ adsorption, accelerating reduction reaction, and improving electrochemical stability. Such a hybrid opens an interesting class of highly efficient non‐Pt catalysts for ORR in alkaline media.     

Facile synthesis of fully ordered L10-FePt nanoparticles with controlled Pt-shell thicknesses for electrocatalysis

We report a simple one-step approach for the synthesis of ～4 nm uniform and fully L10-ordered face-centered tetragonal (fct) FePt nanopartides (NPs) embedded in ～60 nm MCM-41 (fct-FePt NPs@MCM-41).We controlled the Pt-shell thickness of the fct-FePt NPs by treating the fct-FePt NPs@MCM-41 with acetic acid (HOAc) or hydrochloric acid (HC1) under sonication,thereby etching the surface Fe atoms of the NPs.The fct-FePt NPs deposited onto the carbon support (fct-FePt NP/C) were prepared by mixing the fct-FePt NPs@MCM-41 with carbon and subsequently removing the MCM-41 using NaOH.We also developed a facile method to synthesize acid-treated fct-FePt NP/C by using a HF solution for simultaneous surface-Fe etching and MCM-41 removal.We studied the effects of both surface-Fe etching and Pt-shell thickness on the electrocatalytic properties of fct-FePt NPs for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR).Compared with the non-treated fct-FePt NP/C catalyst,the HOAc-treated and HCl-treated catalysts exhibit up to 34％ larger electrochemically active surface areas (ECASAs);in addition,the HCl-treated fct-FePt NP (with ～1.0 nm Pt shell)/C catalyst exhibits the highest specific activity.The HF-treated fct-FePt NP/C exhibits an ECASA almost 2 times larger than those of the other acid-treated fct-FePt NP/C catalysts and shows the highest mass activity (1,435 mA.mg~,2.3 times higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst) and stability among the catalysts tested.Our findings demonstrate that the surface-Fe etching for the generation of the Pt shell on fct-FePt NPs and the Pt-shell thickness can be factors for optimizing the electrocatalysis of the MOR.     

Biological Functions and Current Advances in Isolation and Detection Strategies for Exosome Nanovesicles

Exosomes are nanoscale (≈30–150 nm) extracellular vesicles of endocytic origin that are shed by most types of cells and circulate in bodily fluids. Exosomes carry a specific composition of proteins, lipids, RNA, and DNA and can work as cargo to transfer this information to recipient cells. Recent studies on exosomes have shown that they play an important role in various biological processes, such as intercellular signaling, coagulation, inflammation, and cellular homeostasis. These functional roles are attributed to their ability to transfer RNA, proteins, enzymes, and lipids, thereby affecting the physiological and pathological conditions in various diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative, infectious, and autoimmune diseases (e.g., cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis). Due to these unique characteristics, exosomes are considered promising biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of various diseases via noninvasive or minimally invasive procedures. Over the last decade, a plethora of methodologies have been developed for analyzing disease‐specific exosomes using optical and nonoptical tools. Here, the major biological functions, significance, and potential role of exosomes as biomarkers and therapeutics are discussed. Furthermore, an overview of the most commonly used techniques for exosome analysis, highlighting the major technical challenges and limitations of existing techniques, is presented.     

Perceived Interior Space of Motor Vehicles based on Illusory Design Elements

Driver and passengers recognize the interior spaces of cars psychologically as well as physically. Since the car companies have difficulty extending the physical spaces of cars due to the cost and physical constraints, they tend to make an effort to widen the perceived space instead of the physical space. In this study, we aim to investigate the effectiveness of car interior designs to which optical illusions are applied to increase their perceived roominess. Instrument panels, door‐trim armrests, and A‐pillars were chosen as the interior spaces of cars that optical illusions were applied to because drivers most frequently recognize and use them. To get alternative car interior designs, the original car designs were modified by applying optical illusions. Also, the questionnaire that includes 28 questions was used to measure “perceived roominess,” “space completeness,” “openness,” “dullness,” and “narrowness” for original interior design and alternative designs based on optical illusions, and 30 people participated in the experiments that were conducted to compare among original and optical illusion–based designs. As a result, optical illusion–based designs were significantly better than original designs in terms of perceived roominess, and the following alternative designs were recommended: the instrument panel design of a 30% longer converging point than the original design, the horizontal door‐trim armrest design, and the A‐pillar design whose cross section is rectangular. We can conclude that the optical illusions can be applied to designing in‐vehicle spaces to increase perceived roominess.     

Highly Stretchable,High‐Mobility,Free‐Standing All‐Organic Transistors Modulated by Solid‐State Elastomer Electrolytes

Highly stretchable, high‐mobility, and free‐standing coplanar‐type all‐organic transistors based on deformable solid‐state elastomer electrolytes are demonstrated using ionic thermoplastic polyurethane (i‐TPU), thereby showing high reliability under mechanical stimuli as well as low‐voltage operation. Unlike conventional ionic dielectrics, the i‐TPU electrolyte prepared herein has remarkable characteristics, i.e., a large specific capacitance of 5.5 µF cm^?2, despite the low weight ratio (20 wt%) of the ionic liquid, high transparency, and even stretchability. These i‐TPU‐based organic transistors exhibit a mobility as high as 7.9 cm² V^?1 s^?1, high bendability (R_c, radius of curvature: 7.2 mm), and good stretchability (60% tensile strain). Moreover, they are suitable for low‐voltage operation (V_DS = ?1.0 V, V_GS = ?2.5 V). In addition, the electrical characteristics such as mobility, on‐current, and threshold voltage are maintained even in the concave and convex bending state (bending tensile strain of ≈3.4%), respectively. Finally, free‐standing, fully stretchable, and semi‐transparent coplanar‐type all‐organic transistors can be fabricated by introducing a poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonic acid layer as source/drain and gate electrodes, thus achieving low‐voltage operation (V_DS = ?1.5 V, V_GS = ?2.5 V) and an even higher mobility of up to 17.8 cm² V^?1 s^?1. Moreover, these devices withstand stretching up to 80% tensile strain.     

Nitrogen‐Dopant‐Induced Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Perovskite Crystal Growth on Carbon Nanotubes

Interfacial engineering of organic–inorganic halide perovskites in conjunction with different functional materials is anticipated to offer novel heterojunction structures with unique functionalities. Unfortunately, complex material compositions and structures of the organic–inorganic hybrid materials make it difficult to tailor a desirable intermolecular interaction at the interface. Spontaneous and highly specific nucleation of perovskite crystals, that is, methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (CH₃NH₃PbI₃, MAPbI₃) at nitrogen‐doped carbon nanotube (NCNT) surfaces for the self‐assembly of MAPbI₃/NCNT hybrids is reported. It is demonstrated that the lone‐pair electrons of pyridinic nitrogen‐dopant sites at NCNTs mediate specific interactions with the cationic component in the perovskite structure and serve as the nucleation sites via coordinate bonding formation, as supported by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculation. The potential suitability of MAPbI₃/NCNT hybrids is presented for highly sensitive and selective NO₂ sensing layer. This work suggests a reliable self‐assembly route to the molecular level hybridization of organic–inorganic halide perovskites by employing the substitutional dopant sites at graphene‐based nanomaterials.