Effects on keratinocytes of the traditional combination of herb extract (Royal Oji Complex) implicated the improvement of young children's skin moisture and barrier.

BACKGROUND: Natural products are often friendly and can be used on children's skin after systematic and careful research. Therefore, in this study, the Royal Oji Complex (ROC), a product with natural ingredients, was used to study their effectiveness on keratinocytes taken from the skin of children from 0 to 3 years old. METHOD: Normal human epidermal keratinocytes and tissue-isolated keratinocytes (TIKC) from young donors were treated with three different concentrations of ROC: 0.1, 1, and 10 ppm. The mRNA expression of the epidermal barrier's essential genes, such as hyaluronic acid synthase 3 (Has3), involucrin (IVL), loricrin (LOR), and claudin-1 (CLD1) was investigated using qRT-PCR. Ceramide content was measured by ELISA, with retinoic acid (R.A.) and amarogentin (AMA) serving as positive controls. RESULTS: ROC significantly elevated HAS3 gene expression in HEKn cells, especially at 10 ppm, indicating potential advantages for skin hydration in young infants. IVL increased at first but decreased as ROC concentrations increased. LOR was upregulated at lower ROC concentrations but reduced at higher doses. CLD1 gene expression increased considerably in HEKn but reduced with increasing ROC doses. Ceramide concentration increased somewhat but not significantly at 10 ppm. CONCLUSION: ROC shows potential in altering keratinocyte gene expression, with unique responses in HEKn and TIKC from young donors. While changes in ceramide content were insignificant, these results help to comprehend ROC's multiple effects on young children's skin.

Device-Algorithm Co-Optimization for an On-Chip Trainable Capacitor-Based Synaptic Device with IGZO TFT and Retention-Centric Tiki-Taka Algorithm.

Analog in-memory computing synaptic devices are widely studied for efficient implementation of deep learning. However, synaptic devices based on resistive memory have difficulties implementing on-chip training due to the lack of means to control the amount of resistance change and large device variations. To overcome these shortcomings, silicon complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (Si-CMOS) and capacitor-based charge storage synapses are proposed, but it is difficult to obtain sufficient retention time due to Si-CMOS leakage currents, resulting in a deterioration of training accuracy. Here, a novel 6T1C synaptic device using only n-type indium gaIlium zinc oxide thin film transistor (IGZO TFT) with low leakage current and a capacitor is proposed, allowing not only linear and symmetric weight update but also sufficient retention time and parallel on-chip training operations. In addition, an efficient and realistic training algorithm to compensate for any remaining device non-idealities such as drifting references and long-term retention loss is proposed, demonstrating the importance of device-algorithm co-optimization.

Radiating amyloid fibril formation on the surface of lipid membranes through unit-assembly of oligomeric species of α-synuclein.

BACKGROUND: Lewy body in the substantia nigra is a cardinal pathological feature of Parkinson's disease. Despite enormous efforts, the cause-and-effect relationship between Lewy body formation and the disorder is yet to be explicitly unveiled. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we showed that radiating amyloid fibrils (RAFs) were instantly developed on the surface of synthetic lipid membranes from the ß-sheet free oligomeric species of α-synuclein through a unit-assembly process. The burgeoning RAFs were successfully matured by feeding them with additional oligomers, which led to concomitant dramatic shrinkage and disintegration of the membranes by pulling off lipid molecules to the extending fibrils. Mitochondria and lysosomes were demonstrated to be disrupted by the oligomeric α-synuclein via membrane-dependent fibril formation. CONCLUSION: The physical structure formation of amyloid fibrils, therefore, could be considered as detrimental to the cells by affecting membrane integrity of the intracellular organelles, which might be a molecular cause for the neuronal degeneration observed in Parkinson's disease.

A case of carbon monoxide poisoning with thrombus in right atrium.

Carbon monoxide is a nonirritant, odorless, colorless gas. Its effects are prominent in organs most sensitive to oxygen deprivation, such as the heart, brain, and kidney. Although less frequently, an association between thromboembolic events and carbon monoxide poisoning has been shown in the literatures. In this case, we report a case of atrial thrombus associated with carbon monoxide poisoning.

Exchange-induced electron transport in heavily phosphorus-doped si nanowires.

Heavily phosphorus-doped silicon nanowires (Si NWs) show intriguing transport phenomena at low temperature. As we decrease the temperature, the resistivity of the Si NWs initially decreases, like metals, and starts to increase logarithmically below a resistivity minimum temperature (T(min)), which is accompanied by (i) a zero-bias dip in the differential conductance and (ii) anisotropic negative magnetoresistance (MR), depending on the angle between the applied magnetic field and current flow. These results are associated with the impurity band conduction and electron scattering by the localized spins at phosphorus donor states. The analysis on the MR reveals that the localized spins are coupled antiferromagnetically at low temperature via the exchange interaction.

Large-scale assembly of highly flexible low-noise devices based on silicon nanowires.

Recently, integrated flexible devices based on silicon nanowires (Si-NWs) have received significant attention as high performance flexible devices. However, most previous assembly methods can generate only specifically-shaped devices and require unconventional facilities, which has been a major hurdle for industrial applications. Herein, we report a simple but very efficient method for assembling Si-NWs into virtually generally-shape patterns on flexible substrates using only conventional microfabrication facilities, allowing us to mass-produce highly flexible low-noise devices. As proof of this method, we demonstrated the fabrication of highly bendable top-gate transistors based on Si-NWs. These devices showed typical n-type semiconductor behaviors, and exhibited a much lower noise level compared to previous flexible devices based on organic conductors or other nanowires. In addition, the gating behaviors and low-noise characteristics of our devices were maintained, even under highly bent conditions.

Large-scale assembly of silicon nanowire network-based devices using conventional microfabrication facilities.

We present a method for assembling silicon nanowires (Si-NWs) in virtually general shape patterns using only conventional microfabrication facilities. In this method, silicon nanowires were functionalized with amine groups and dispersed in deionized water. The functionalized Si-NWs exhibited positive surface charges in the suspensions, and they were selectively adsorbed and aligned onto negatively charged surface regions on solid substrates. As a proof of concepts, we demonstrated transistors based on individual Si-NWs and long networks of Si-NWs.

Band-gap modulation in single-crystalline Si1-xGex nanowires.

We report the energy band-gap modulation of single-crystalline Si1-xGex (0