Assessing the contribution of semiconductors to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) from 2017 to 2022.

Semiconductor development is a major driving force for global economic growth. However, synchronizing it with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations remains a critical challenge. To gain insight into this, we analyzed SDG-related publications on semiconductors from 2017 to 2022 using the SciVal database. The study found 77,706 documents related to SDGs in the field of semiconductor research, with an overall increase in the number of publications each year. The main focus of these publications was SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), accounting for 68.9 % of the total publication count. Additionally, the results indicate that semiconductors have multifaceted potential in advancing a range of SDGs. From fostering innovations in healthcare (SDG 3), ensuring clean water access (SDG 6), catalyzing transformative industrial growth (SDG 9), to contributing to climate mitigation strategies (SDG 13), semiconductors emerge as versatile drivers of sustainable development. The respective publication percentages for these goals were 7.3 %, 5.9 %, 9.7 %, and 4.4 %, underscoring their capacity to make substantial contributions across various facets of sustainability. It's worth noting that only 2.9 % of these publications stem from academia-industry collaborations. This indicates a pressing need to facilitate collaboration between academia and industry, as such partnerships have the potential to amplify the impact of semiconductor innovations on the SDGs. The novelty of this study lies in its specific exploration through a comprehensive analysis spanning five years, revealing the alignment between semiconductor advancements and the latest SDGs. It uncovers the significance of collaborative ecosystems involving research institutions, businesses, and governments. Through these results, our study addresses a gap in the existing literature and advances semiconductor contributions to the SDGs.

The Mediating Effects of Psychological Capital and Academic Self-Efficacy on Learning Outcomes of College Freshmen.

This study was an investigation of the relationship between past and present learning experiences of first-year college students and of how the psychological capital and academic self-efficacy they had accrued from past learning experiences were correlated with their current learning engagement. Longitudinal data were collected to examine how students' learning experiences in high school impacted their learning in college. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrapping techniques were employed in data analysis. Results indicated that psychological capital and academic self-efficacy functioned as mediators between students' past learning experience and present learning engagement. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of these two psychological constructs and suggest that postsecondary institutions should provide learning environments that support these factors to ensure student success.

Efficacy of Prenatal Yoga in the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Women commonly suffer from depression during pregnancy. For reducing depression, yoga seems to be more suitable for pregnant women than other physical activities because of its low exercise intensity. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of prenatal yoga on the treatment of depression during pregnancy. Three electronic databases were searched for relevant articles from their inception to May 2021, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect. Pre- and post-test outcomes were adopted to estimate standardized mean difference with a 95% confidence interval for assessing the efficacy of yoga. Heterogeneity among articles was detected using I2 value. A total of 13 articles that contained 379 subjects were included for meta-analysis. No significant improvement in depression scores after practicing yoga was observed for women without depression (p = 0.09) but significant improvement was observed for women with depression (p = 0.001). Although significant improvement in anxiety scores after yoga was observed for women without depression (p = 0.02), the results of the sensitivity analysis were not consistent, while significant improvement in anxiety scores after yoga was also observed for women with depression (p < 0.00001). The current evidence has suggested that yoga had significant improvement in depression and anxiety scores in pregnant women with depression. However, the level of evidence of this study was not high. More articles with high levels of evidence should be conducted to confirm our conclusion in the future.

Allergic children with extremely high total IgE but no allergen identified in the initial screening panel.

BACKGROUND: High serum IgE level in atopic children usually implies a highly sensitized condition. However, there is a subgroup of atopic children for whom a specific allergen cannot be identified. In this study, we analyzed follow-up data from these children. METHODS: From March 2014 to July 2017, we recruited 14 atopic children with serum total IgE level higher than 500 Ku/L, but with no specific allergen identified by repeated MAST tests initially. Follow-up studies of specific IgE were conducted by the OPTIGEN MAST Allergy test and ImmunoCAP assays (Thermo Fisher Scientific/Phadia), while total IgE and specific IgG were measured by ImmunoCAP. RESULTS: The patients were aged from 2 to 17 y/o. The follow-up MAST tests showed significantly positive results in 10 patients. There were no significant differences in any of the clinical characteristics between the MAST-positive and MAST-negative groups. In the MAST-negative group, five allergen-specific IgE antibodies, including those for cockroach, Euroglyphus maynei, Blomia tropicalis, shrimp, and crab, were strongly predictive of negative ImmunoCAP results, according to ROC (Receiver operating characteristic curve) analysis of the AUC (Area under the Curve of ROC) (0.70-0.95), with significance set at p < 0.05. CONCLUSION: In two thirds of atopic children with a high serum IgE whose specific allergen had yet to be identified, it was possible to identify the specific MAST allergen(s) after an average follow-up of 33.2 months. For patients who still had negative results in follow-up MAST, mite DP, DF, and DM may be suitable choices for further allergen identification by ImmunoCAP.

Amifostine alleviates radiation-induced lethal small bowel damage via promotion of 14-3-3σ-mediated nuclear p53 accumulation.

Amifostine (AM) is a radioprotector that scavenges free radicals and is used in patients undergoing radiotherapy. p53 has long been implicated in cell cycle arrest for cellular repair after radiation exposure. We therefore investigated the protective p53-dependent mechanism of AM on small bowel damage after lethal whole-abdominal irradiation (WAI). AM increased both the survival rate of rats and crypt survival following lethal 18 Gy WAI. The p53 inhibitor PFT-α compromised AM-mediated effects when administered prior to AM administration. AM significantly increased clonogenic survival in IEC-6 cells expressing wild type p53 but not in p53 knockdown cells. AM significantly increased p53 nuclear accumulation and p53 tetramer expression before irradiation through the inhibition of p53 degradation. AM inhibited p53 interactions with MDM2 but enhanced p53 interactions with 14-3-3σ. Knockdown of 14-3-3σ also compromised the effect of AM on clonogenic survival and p53 nuclear accumulation in IEC-6 cells. For the first time, our data reveal that AM alleviates lethal small bowel damage through the induction of 14-3-3σ and subsequent accumulation of p53. Enhancement of the p53/14-3-3σ interaction results in p53 tetramerization in the nucleus that rescues lethal small bowel damage.

Aminoguanidine alleviates radiation-induced small-bowel damage through its antioxidant effect.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect and its mechanism of aminoguanidine (AG) on small-bowel protection after whole-abdominal irradiation (WAI) in rats. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-400 g) subjected to 12 Gy WAI were used for the study. Aminoguanidine at a dose of 50-800 mg/kg was administered by the gavage route 2 h before WAI. Mucosal damage of small bowel was evaluated by the grade of diarrhea and crypt survival; oxidative stress was determined by the level of 8-hydroxy 2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) with immunohistochemistry (IHC). Nitrosative stress was evaluated by the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) with IHC, and systemic and portal vein NOx (nitrite + nitrate) levels were measured and compared with and without AG treatment after WAI. RESULTS: Aminoguanidine showed a dose-dependent effect against WAI-induced diarrhea. Aminoguanidine at a dose of 400 mg/kg had the best protective effect, from 92% to 17% (p = 0.002). Aminoguanidine increased crypt survival from 23% to 46% (p = 0.003). It also significantly attenuated 8-OHdG expression but not 3-NT and iNOS expression at both 4 and 8 h after 12-Gy WAI. Aminoguanidine did not alter the portal vein NOx levels 4 and 8 h after 12-Gy WAI. CONCLUSION: Aminoguanidine has a radioprotective effect against radiation-induced small-bowel damage due to its antioxidant effect but not inhibition of nitric oxide production. Dietary AG may have a potentially protective effect on the small intestine of patients subjected to pelvic and abdominal radiotherapies.

Neutral Ru(II)-based emitting materials: a prototypical study on factors governing radiationless transition in phosphorescent metal complexes.

In addition to the metal-centered dd transition that is widely accepted as a dominant radiationless decay channel, other factors may also play important roles in governing the loss of phosphorescence efficiency for heavy-transition-metal complexes. To conduct our investigation, we synthesized two dicarbonylruthenium complexes with formulas [Ru(CO)2(BQ)2] (1) and [Ru(CO)2(DBQ)2] (2), for which the cyclometalated ligands BQ and DBQ denote benzo[h]quinoline and dibenzo[f,h]quinoxaline, respectively. Replacing one CO ligand with a P donor ligand such as PPh2Me and PPhMe2 caused one cyclometalated ligand to undergo a 180 degrees rotation around the central metal atom, giving highly luminous metal complexes [Ru(CO)L(BQ)2] and [Ru(CO)L(DBQ)2], where L = PPh2Me and PPhMe2 (3-6), with emission peaks lambda(max) in the range of 571-656 nm measured in the fluid state at room temperature. It is notable that the S0-T1 energy gap for both 1 and 2 is much higher than that of 3-6, but the corresponding phosphorescent spectral intensity is much weaker. Using these cyclometalated Ru metal complexes as a prototype, our experimental results and theoretical analysis draw attention to the fact that, for complexes 1 and 2, the weaker spin-orbit coupling present within these molecules reduces the T1-S0 interaction, from which the thermally activated radiationless deactivation may take place. This, in combination with the much smaller 3MLCT contribution than that observed in 3-6, rationalizes the lack of room-temperature emission for complexes 1 and 2.