A Surface Tailoring Method of Ultrathin Polymer Gate Dielectrics for Organic Transistors: Improved Device Performance and the Thermal Stability Thereof

Tailoring the surface of the dielectric layer is of critical importance to form a good interface with the following channel layer for organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). Here, a simple surface treatment method is applied onto an ultrathin (<15 nm) organosilicon‐based dielectric layer via the initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) to make it compatible with organic semiconductors without degrading its insulating property. A molecular‐thin oxide capping layer is formed on a 15 nm thick poly(1,3,5‐trimetyl‐1,3,5‐trivinyl cyclotrisiloxane) (pV3D3) by a brief oxygen plasma treatment. The capping layer greatly enhances the thermal stability of the dielectrics, without degrading the original mechanical flexibility and insulating performance of the dielectrics. Moreover, the surface silanol functionalities formed by the plasma treatment can also be utilized for the surface modification with silane compounds. The surface‐modified dielectrics are applied to fabricate low‐voltage operating (<5 V) pentacene‐based OTFTs. The highest field‐effect mobility of the device with the surface‐treated 15 nm thick pV3D3 is 0.59 cm² V^?1 s^?1, which is improved up to two times compared to the TFT with the pristine pV3D3. It is believed that the simple surface treatment method can widely extend the applicability of the highly robust, ultrathin, and flexible pV3D3 gate dielectrics to design the surface of the dielectrics to match well various kinds of organic semiconductors.     

The effect of steaming on the free amino acid contents and antioxidant activity of Panax ginseng

This study was carried out to investigate changes in the free amino acid contents and antioxidant activity of Panax ginseng induced by steaming at different temperatures. For this purpose, white ginseng (WG), red ginseng (RG, ginseng steamed at 100 °C) and ginseng steamed at 120 °C (SG) were prepared using an autoclave. Most free amino acids were decreased significantly by steam treatment, with the greatest reduction observed in SG. Total content of free amino acids, 17.9 mg/g in WG was reduced to 12.2 mg/g in RG and 2.79 mg/g in SG. As for Arg which is the most predominant amino acid in ginseng, the content, 10.4 mg/g in WG, decreased significantly to 1.38 mg/g in SG. In particular, β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP), a well-known neurotoxin, was reduced by 92.9% in SG. In contrast, the level of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) increased with steam treatment, which indicates that the reduction of most amino acids is attributed to the extent of the Maillard reaction. Based on MRPs being useful antioxidants, we assayed the scavenging activity against free radicals produced by 2,2′-azobis-(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH). The radical scavenging activity of a ginseng extract increased with steam treatment, with the most potent activity in SG. Further, MRPs-rich fraction in SG showed powerful antioxidant activity, which indicates MRPs are major contributors to antioxidant activity enhanced by steam treatment.     

Antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli O157 from cattle in Korea

Of 45 Escherichia coli O157 isolates from cattle feces, which were collected between May 2000 and September 2003 in Korea, 32 were resistant to at least 1 antibiotic and 28 were resistant to 4 or more antibiotics, with 32, 30 and 30 of the isolates being resistant to streptomycin, tetracycline and sulfisoxazole, respectively. Two isolates were resistant to fluoroquinolones and to 10 or more of the 22 other antimicrobial agents that were tested. Thirteen antimicrobial resistant patterns were observed. The most frequent resistance type, which was found for 11 isolates, was streptomycin-tetracycline-kanamycin-ampicillin-piperacillin-cephalothin-sulfisoxazole-ticarcillin. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the isolates for E. coli O157 virulence markers revealed that 25 of the resistant E. coli O157 isolates tested positive for stx2 or both stx1 and stx2 genes. These findings suggest that many of the resistant E. coli O157 isolates might cause disease in humans.     

A Boronic Acid Assay for the Detection of Mucin‐1 Glycoprotein from Cancer Cells

Cell surface glycoproteins are commonly aberrant in disease and act as biomarkers that facilitate diagnostics. Mucin‐1 (MUC1) is a prominent example, exhibiting truncated glycosylation in cancer. We present herein a boronic acid microplate assay for sensitive and high‐throughput detection of such glycoproteins. The immobilization of biotin–boronic acid 1 onto streptavidin plates generated a multivalent surface for glycoprotein recruitment and detection. We first validated the binding properties of 1 in solution through titrations with alizarin dye. Next, the microplate assay was explored through horseradish peroxidase (HRP) analysis as a proof‐of‐concept glycoprotein with chemiluminescence detection. Finally, this platform was applied for the detection of MUC1 directly from MCF‐7 human breast cancer cell lysates by using an HRP‐tagged antibody that targets the cancerous form of this glycoprotein. Sensitive, dose‐dependent detection of MUC1 was observed, showcasing the efficacy of this platform for detecting disease‐associated glycoproteins.     

Multigroup pin power reconstruction with two-dimensional source expansion and corner flux discontinuity

A pin power reconstruction method that is readily applicable to multigroup problems with superior accuracy is presented for applications involving rectangular fuel assemblies. It employs a two-dimensional (2D), fourth order Legendre expansion of the source distribution that naturally leads to a group-decoupled, 2D semi-analytic solution of the neutron diffusion equation. The four surface average currents and four corner fluxes are used as the boundary conditions to uniquely specify the homogenous solution. The corner fluxes and source expansion coefficients are iteratively determined using the condition of corner point balance and the orthogonal property of the Lengedre functions. Corner discontinuity is incorporated in the calculation of the corner fluxes which turns out to be very effective in the cases of enrichment zoning. The accuracy of the proposed method is assessed by performing the two-step core calculations for the L336C5, C5G7MOX, and MOX core transient benchmark problems and then by comparing with the direct whole-core transport solutions. The results indicate that the proposed method is as accurate as the fully analytic method and works well irrespective the number of groups. However, it is also noted that somewhat larger errors are inevitable at the peripheral assemblies near the reflector in which the error associated with a prioi generation of the homogenized cross-sections and form functions is not trivial.     

Deduction of Design Equations for Durability Performance Improvement of Voice Coil Type Linear Actuator for Servo Valve Operation

The precise hydraulic valve is widely used in various industrial fields like aircraft, automobile and general machinery. Linear actuator is the most important device for driving the precise hydraulic valve. The reliable operation of linear actuator has effects on the overall hydraulic system. The performance of linear actuator relies on frequency response and step response according to arbitrary input signal. In this paper, the analysis for the components of linear actuator is performed to satisfy the reliable operation and response characteristics through the reliability analysis, and also deducted the design equations to realize the reliable operation and fast response characteristics of voice coil type linear actuator for servo valve operation through the empirical knowledge of experts and electromagnetic theories. The design equations are suggested to determine the values of design parameters of linear actuator as like bobbin size, length of yoke and plunger and turn number of coil, and calculated the life test time of linear actuator for verification of reliability of the prototype. In addition, for reducing the life test time, the acceleration model of linear actuator is proposed and the acceleration factor is calculated considering the field operating conditions. And then, the achieved design values are verified through accelerated life test and performance tests using some prototypes of linear actuators adapted in servo valve.     

Performance analysis of large-scale MIMO system for wireless backhaul network

In this paper, we present a performance analysis of large-scale multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems for wireless backhaul networks. We focus on fully connected N nodes in a wireless meshed and multi-hop network topology. We also consider a large number of antennas at both the receiver and transmitter. We investigate the transmission schemes to support fully connected N nodes for half-duplex and full-duplex transmission, analyze the achievable ergodic sum rate among N nodes, and propose a closed-form expression of the achievable ergodic sum rate for each scheme. Furthermore, we present numerical evaluation results and compare the resuts with closed-form expressions.     

Physical properties of surimi sausages subjected to high hydrostatic pressure treatment

Food Science and Biotechnology - We aimed to investigate the effect of high pressure treatment (HPT) on the physical properties of surimi sausages. For protein gelation, high hydrostatic pressure...     

A web-based 3D ontology navigation system for spinal disease diagnosis

The Journal of Supercomputing - This paper presents a web-based three-dimensional (3D) navigation system for a spinal disease ontology using a 3D virtual human spine. The 3D navigation system...     

Major findings from LBLOCA reflood tests using the ATLAS facility

A set of LBLOCA (large-break loss of coolant accident) reflood tests was performed in the first phase of the ATLAS (advanced thermal-hydraulic test loop for accident simulation) program. Their main objectives were to identify the major thermal-hydraulic characteristics during the reflood phase of a LBLOCA for APR1400 and to provide qualified data for APR1400 licensing. The ATLAS reflood test program could be divided into two phases (Phase-1 and Phase-2) according to the target period to be simulated. The Phase-1 tests were parametric effect tests for downcomer boiling in the late reflood phase of LBLOCA and the Phase-2 tests were integral effect tests for the entire reflood phase of LBLOCA. The experimental results from both Phase-1 and Phase-2 tests reproduced typical thermal-hydraulic trends expected to occur during the APR1400 LBLOCA scenario. A separate effect test was also performed under a low reflooding rate condition to provide data to validate the RELAP5 reflood models, and its experimental results showed a gradual reflooding in the core, a subsequent quenching of the core heater rods and the cooling of the reactor pressure vessel downcomer.