Design Rule of Electron- and Hole-Selective Contacts for Polycrystalline Silicon-Based Passivating Contact Solar Cells.

A crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell with a polycrystalline silicon/SiOx (poly-Si/SiOx) structure, incorporating both electron and hole contacts, is an attractive choice for achieving ideal carrier selectivity and serving as a fundamental component in high-efficiency perovskite/Si tandem and interdigitated back-contact solar cells. However, our understanding of the carrier transport mechanism of hole contacts remains limited owing to insufficient studies dedicated to its investigation. There is also a lack of comparative studies on the poly-Si/SiOx electron and hole contacts for ideal carrier-selective solar cells. Therefore, this study aims to address these knowledge gaps by exploring the relationship among microstructural evolution, dopant in-diffusion, and the resulting carrier transport mechanism in both the electron and hole contacts of poly-Si/SiOx solar cells. Electron (n+ poly-Si/SiOx/substrate)- and hole (p+ poly-Si/SiOx/substrate)-selective passivating contacts are subjected to thermal annealing. Changes in the passivation properties and carrier transport mechanisms of these contacts are investigated during thermal annealing at various temperatures. Notably, the results demonstrate that the passivation properties and carrier transport mechanisms are strongly influenced by the microstructural evolution of the poly-Si/SiOx layer stack and dopant in-diffusion. Furthermore, electron and hole contacts exhibit common behaviors regarding microstructural evolution and dopant in-diffusion. However, the hole contacts exhibit relatively inferior electrical properties overall, mainly because both the SiOx interface and the p+ poly-Si are found to be highly defective. Moreover, boron in the hole contacts diffuses deeper than phosphorus in the electron contacts, resulting in deteriorated carrier collection. The experimental results are also supported by device simulation. Based on these findings, design rules are suggested for both electron and hole contacts, such as using thicker SiOx and/or annealing the solar cell at a temperature not exceeding the critical annealing temperature of the hole contacts.

Differential diagnosis of common etiologies of left ventricular hypertrophy using a hybrid CNN-LSTM model.

Differential diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is often obscure on echocardiography and requires numerous additional tests. We aimed to develop a deep learning algorithm to aid in the differentiation of common etiologies of LVH (i.e. hypertensive heart disease [HHD], hypertrophic cardiomyopathy [HCM], and light-chain cardiac amyloidosis [ALCA]) on echocardiographic images. Echocardiograms in 5 standard views (parasternal long-axis, parasternal short-axis, apical 4-chamber, apical 2-chamber, and apical 3-chamber) were obtained from 930 subjects: 112 with HHD, 191 with HCM, 81 with ALCA and 546 normal subjects. The study population was divided into training (n = 620), validation (n = 155), and test sets (n = 155). A convolutional neural network-long short-term memory (CNN-LSTM) algorithm was constructed to independently classify the 3 diagnoses on each view, and the final diagnosis was made by an aggregate network based on the simultaneously predicted probabilities of HCM, HCM, and ALCA. Diagnostic performance of the algorithm was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and accuracy was evaluated by the confusion matrix. The deep learning algorithm was trained and verified using the training and validation sets, respectively. In the test set, the average AUC across the five standard views was 0.962, 0.982 and 0.996 for HHD, HCM and CA, respectively. The overall diagnostic accuracy was significantly higher for the deep learning algorithm (92.3%) than for echocardiography specialists (80.0% and 80.6%). In the present study, we developed a deep learning algorithm for the differential diagnosis of 3 common LVH etiologies (HHD, HCM and ALCA) by applying a hybrid CNN-LSTM model and aggregate network to standard echocardiographic images. The high diagnostic performance of our deep learning algorithm suggests that the use of deep learning can improve the diagnostic process in patients with LVH.

Fully Bottom-Up Waste-Free Growth of Ultrathin Silicon Wafer via Self-Releasing Seed Layer.

The fabrication of ultrathin silicon wafers at low cost is crucial for advancing silicon electronics toward stretchability and flexibility. However, conventional fabrication techniques are inefficient because they sacrifice a large amount of substrate material. Thus, advanced silicon electronics that have been realized in laboratories cannot move forward to commercialization. Here, a fully bottom-up technique for producing a self-releasing ultrathin silicon wafer without sacrificing any of the substrate is presented. The key to this approach is a self-organized nanogap on the substrate fabricated by plasma-assisted epitaxial growth (plasma-epi) and subsequent hydrogen annealing. The wafer thickness can be independently controlled during the bulk growth after the formation of plasma-epi seed layer. In addition, semiconductor devices are realized using the ultrathin silicon wafer. Given the high scalability of plasma-epi and its compatibility with conventional semiconductor process, the proposed bottom-up wafer fabrication process will open a new route to developing advanced silicon electronics.

Mobile app-based chatbot to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy and psychoeducation for adults with attention deficit: A development and feasibility/usability study.

BACKGROUND: Attention deficit is a growing problem in adults, and early diagnosis and treatment are needed. Previous studies have shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective in improving attention deficit symptoms. However, many patients are not receiving adequate treatment due to time, space, and cost constraints. Recently, in other mental illnesses, mobile-based chatbots delivering CBT and psychoeducation have been used for symptom mitigation and treatment. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and usability of a short-term intervention, specifically a mobile-based interactive chatbot application, in alleviating attention deficit symptoms. METHODS: This was a randomized, non-blind parallel-group pilot study conducted from September 2019 to March 2020. Forty-six individuals with attention deficit aged 19-60 were randomly allocated to the chatbot (n = 23) and information-only control groups (n = 23) for 4 weeks. The former group was instructed to use the chatbot application "Todaki," while the latter group was provided with a book on managing attention deficit symptoms. Participants were administered questionnaires to assess their symptoms of attention deficit, depression, and anxiety and evaluated at baseline and 4 weeks after the intervention. The post-intervention survey assessed the chatbot's usability, acceptability, and side effects. RESULTS: The average age of the participants was 25.1 years (standard deviation [SD] 7.5 years), and 56.5 % (26/46) participants were female. Intention-to-treat analysis (chatbot, n = 23; control, n = 23) revealed a significant reduction of attention deficit symptoms only in the chatbot group, which is represented by group-by-time interaction in Conner's Adult ADHD Rating Scale subscales of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Hyperactive-Impulsive symptoms (F = 4.39; p = .04) and ADHD symptoms total (F = 6.74, p = .01). Further, the results of the paired t-test were significant only in the chatbot group. The average number of times the chatbots were used in 4 weeks was 20.32 (SD 12.89). The total average usage time was 1 h 15 min (SD 1 h 20 min). The degree of improvement in the ADHD symptoms total score was correlated with the number of times the psychoeducation program was used. According to the participants, the empathic/friendly character and unnatural flow of conversation were the best and worst features of the chatbot, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified the feasibility and usability of using the mobile-based chatbot to improve attention deficit and its associated psychiatric symptoms. Using this novel intervention to conduct CBT would provide a useful digital therapeutic tool that allows easy accessibility and self-guided management for people with attention deficit, which should be verified through the large scale randomized controlled trial.

Generation of a Novel Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus Using the IHD-W Strain.

Oncolytic viruses are promising cancer therapies due to their selective killing of tumor cells and ability to stimulate the host immune system. As an oncolytic virus platform, vaccinia virus has unique advantages, including rapid replication, a broad range of host targets, and a large capacity for transgene incorporation. In this study, we developed a novel oncolytic vaccinia virus with high potency and a favorable safety profile. We began with the International Health Department-White (IHD-W) strain, which had the strongest cytotoxicity against tumor cells among the four vaccinia virus strains tested. Next, several candidate viruses were constructed by deleting three viral genes (C11R, K3L, and J2R) in various combinations, and their efficacy and safety were compared. The virus ultimately selected, named KLS-3010, exhibited strong antitumor activity against broad targets in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, KLS-3010 showed a favorable safety profile in mice, as determined by the biodistribution and body weight change. More promisingly, KLS-3010 was able to shift the tumor microenvironment to a proinflammatory state, as evidenced by an increase in activated lymphocytes after KLS-3010 administration, suggesting that this strain may elicit an oncolytic virus-mediated immune response. The KLS-3010 strain thus represents a promising platform for the further development of oncolytic virus-based cancer therapies.

Photo-Oxidative Protection of Chlorophyll a in C-Phycocyanin Aqueous Medium.

In this study, potential protection of chlorophyll a from illumination and oxidation-induced decomposition has been examined using C-phycocyanin (C-PC) aqueous medium. Photo-oxidation resistance of chlorophyll a was monitored in various aqueous media using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and direct-infusion atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry analysis. The spectroscopy results showed that chlorophyll a in C-PC medium experienced the lowest rate of conversion to its derivatives; thus, it was demonstrated that chlorophyll a was mostly intact in the C-PC medium. Furthermore, the C-PC treated with chlorophyll a showed the lowest concentrations of malondialdehyde, and chlorophyll a in C-PC medium did not cause serious damage to human liver cells in vitro after intensive illumination. Therefore, we propose a new method of protecting chlorophyll a from photodegradation and oxidation using C-PC aqueous medium.

Efficacy and safety of So-Cheong-Ryong-Tang in patients with atopic dermatitis and respiratory disorders: Study protocol of a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD, atopic eczema) is a pruritic, inflammatory, chronic skin disease. Since there is limitation of conventional treatment of AD, traditional herbal medicine can be an attractive therapeutic option in patients having AD for a long time. So-Cheong-Ryong-Tang (SCRT) has been found to inhibit histamine release and degranulation of mast cells, differentiation of basophils, and proliferation of eosinophils. We designed this clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SCRT as compared to placebo in patients with AD and respiratory disorders. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and investigator-initiated clinical trial. A total of 60 patients between 7 and 65 years of age with AD and respiratory disorders who received a diagnosis of AD by Hanifin and Rajka criteria who scored 15 to 50 in a scoring atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) will be enrolled. Participants will be randomly assigned to the SCRT or placebo group in a ratio of 1:1 and they will have a visit schedule comprising 4 visits including a screening visit during 8 to 10 weeks. The participants will be administered SCRT or placebo 3 times a day for 4 weeks. The primary outcome will be measured by a change of the SCORAD index. The secondary outcomes will be measured by changes in the dose and frequency of usage of the AD ointment, dermatology life quality index scores, pruritus and sleep disorder in visual analog scale, skin moisture content, skin surface temperature, Hamilton anxiety rating scale scores, depression rating scale scores, stress/autonomic nervous function test, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder survey scores at week 4 as compared to those at the baseline. DISCUSSION: To the best of our knowledge, SCRT has rarely been reported for dermatologic diseases. This will be the first clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of SCRT in patients with AD and respiratory disorders. We hope that the results of this trial will provide evidence for the use of SCRT as a new treatment for AD with respiratory disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Korean National Clinical Trial Registry, Clinical Research Information Service. (KCT0004148) (https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/search_result_st01_en.jsp?seq=14981<ype=&rtype=).

Use of Virtual Reality Working Memory Task and Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess Brain Hemodynamic Responses to Methylphenidate in ADHD Children.

Virtual reality (VR) neuropsychological tests have emerged as a method to explore drug effects in real-life contexts in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a useful tool to measure brain activity during VR tasks in ADHD children with motor restlessness. The present study aimed to explore the acute effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on behavioral performance and brain activity during a VR-based working memory task simulating real-life classroom settings in ADHD children. In total, 23 children with ADHD performed a VR n-back task before and 2 h after MPH administration concurrent with measurements of oxygenated hemoglobin signal changes with fNIRS. Altogether, 12 healthy control (HC) subjects participated in the same task but did not receive MPH treatment. Reaction time (RT) was shortened after MPH treatment in the 1-back condition, but changes in brain activation were not observed. In the 2-back condition, activation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and bilateral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was decreased alongside behavioral changes such as shorter RT, lower RT variability, and higher accuracy after MPH administration. Bilateral mPFC activation in the 2-back condition inversely correlated with task accuracy in the pre-MPH condition; this inverse correlation was not observed after MPH administration. In ADHD children, deactivation of the default mode network mediated by mPFC reduced during high working memory load, which was restored through MPH treatment. Our results suggest that the combination of VR classroom tasks and fNIRS examination makes it easy to assess drug effects on brain activity in ADHD children in settings simulating real-life.

Association of atopic dermatitis with obesity via a multi-omics approach: A protocol for a case-control study.

INTRODUCTION: Several studies have found that obesity is associated with atopic dermatitis (AD); however, the mechanisms underlying the association are largely unknown. This study aims to assess the association of AD with obesity in the Korean population and verify its mechanism via a multi-omics analysis. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A case-control study will be conducted in the Republic of Korea. A total of 80 subjects, aged 4 to 12 years, matched for age and sex, with body mass index at or above the 85th percentile or at or below the 25th percentile, will be included. Subjects will be assigned to the following 4 groups: obese/overweight with AD, normal/underweight with AD, obese/overweight control, and normal/underweight control. Serum metabolome and immune biomarkers, as well as fecal metabolome and microbiome biomarkers, will be analyzed. Serum eosinophil cationic protein, total serum Immunoglobulin E (IgE), and specific IgE will be analyzed to assess allergic tendency. The SCORing of AD index, the children's dermatology life quality index, body composition analysis, and the Korean gastrointestinal symptom rating scale will be obtained to assess the disease status and severity of the subjects. DISCUSSION: The findings of this study are expected to provide evidence of an association between AD and obesity via a gut microbiome-metabolome-immune mechanism. Therefore, it may improve future management strategies for AD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study has been registered at the Korean National Clinical Trial Registry, Clinical Research Information Service (KCT0003630).

Efficacy and safety of Soshiho-tang in patients with atopic dermatitis and gastrointestinal disorders: Study protocol for a double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronically relapsing inflammatory skin disease that affects the quality of life in patients with AD. Since there is limitation of conventional treatment of AD, complementary treatment is required to treat AD symptoms more effectively and safely Soshiho-tang (SSHT) is a traditional herbal medicine that exhibits anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer effects and improves the immune function. In this clinical trial, we will evaluate the efficacy and safety of SSHT in patients with AD and gastrointestinal disorders in comparison with placebo. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and investigator-initiated clinical trial. A total of 60 patients aged 3 to 18 years with AD and gastrointestinal disorders and who received a diagnosis of AD by Hanifin & Rajka criteria with a Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index between 15 and 49 will be enrolled. Participants will be randomly assigned to the SSHT or placebo group in a ratio of 1:1. Additionally, they will have a visit schedule comprising 4 visits including a screening visit during 8 to 10 weeks. The participants will be administered SSHT or placebo 3 times a day for 4 weeks. The primary outcome will be measured by a change of the SCORAD index. The secondary outcome measures include the following: survey questionnaires for the perception of gastrointestinal disorders, amount and frequency of ointment usage for AD, dermatology quality of life index, itchiness and sleep disability score in visual analog scale, percutaneous water loss, skin surface temperature, Hamilton anxiety rating scale, and children's depression inventory. DISCUSSION: In our knowledge, this will be the first clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of SSHT in patients with AD and gastrointestinal disorders. The findings of this study will provide new treatment options for patients with AD and gastrointestinal disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Korean National Clinical Trial Registry, Clinical Research Information Service. (KCT0003713) https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/search_result_st01_en.jsp?seq=13489<ype=&rtype=.

Effect of grain size on thermal transport in post-annealed antimony telluride thin films.

The effects of grain size and strain on the temperature-dependent thermal transport of antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thin films, controlled using post-annealing temperatures of 200°C to 350°C, were investigated using the 3-omega method. The measured total thermal conductivities of 400-nm-thick thin films annealed at temperatures of 200°C, 250°C, 300°C, 320°C, and 350°C were determined to be 2.0 to 3.7 W/m · K in the 20 to 300 K temperature range. We found that the film grain size, rather than the strain, had the most prominent effect on the reduction of the total thermal conductivity. To confirm the effect of grain size on temperature-dependent thermal transport in the thin films, the experimental results were analyzed using a modified Callaway model approach.

Induced myogenic commitment of human chondrocytes via non-viral delivery of minicircle DNA.

Lineage conversion from one somatic cell type to another is an attractive approach for deriving specific therapeutic cell generation. In order to bypass inducing pluripotent stage, transdifferentiation/direct conversion technologies have been recently developed. We report the development of a direct conversion methodology in which cells are transdifferentiated through a plastic intermediate state induced by exposure to non-integrative minicircle DNA (MCDNA)-based reprogramming factors, followed by differentiation into myoblasts. In order to increase the MCDNA delivery efficiency, reprogramming factors were delivered into the chondrocytes via electroporation followed by poly (ß-amino esters) (PBAE) transfection. We used this approach to convert human chondrocytes to myoblast, and with treatment of SB-431542, an inhibitor of the activin receptor-like kinase receptors, to enhance myogenic commitment. Differentiated cells exhibited expression of myogenic markers such as MyoD and Myog. This methodology for direct lineage conversion from chondrocytes to myoblast represents a novel non-viral Method to convert hard-to-transfect cells to other lineage.

BAI, a 3-aminoindazole derivative, inhibits interleukin-1ß-induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in A549 human airway cells.

Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and its products, including PGE2, are key inflammatory mediators. In this study, we have assessed the pharmacological characteristics of BAI, a 3-aminoindazole derivative and a novel cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor, for regulation of COX-2 expression induced by interleukin (IL)-1ß in A549 human airway cells. Treatment with BAI strongly inhibited IL-1ß-induced expression of COX-2 at both the protein and mRNA levels. Results of luciferase experiments also revealed that BAI treatment reduced IL-1ß-induced COX-2 promoter activity. Distinctly, treatment with BAI did not affect IL-1ß-induced phospho-rylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase-1/2 (ERK-1/2), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase-1/2 (JNK-1/2) and proteolysis of IκB-α, an inhibitor of nuclear factor (NF)-κB, but inhibited IL-1ß-induced phosphorylation of histone H1, a target for phosphorylation by CDKs. siRNA transfection experiments demonstrated that knockdown of CDK2 and CDK4 led to a slight reduction of IL-1ß-induced histone H1 phosphorylation but had no effect on IL-1ß-induced COX-2 expression. Interestingly, additional cell culture experiments showed the ability of BAI to repress the PMA-induced COX-2 expression in A549 cells and serum-dependent COX-2 expression in NCI-H292 cells, a human laryngeal cell line. Collectively, these results demonstrate firstly that BAI downregulates IL-1ß-induced COX-2 expression through transcriptional repression, which appears to be independent of CDK2, CDK4, MAPKs and NF-κB, in A549 cells. It is suggested that BAI may be a potential candidate for treatment of the airway inflammatory diseases where COX-2 overexpression is problematic.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 2,5-diaminobenzamide derivatives as anti-proliferating agents.

The screening of the chemical library for the anti-proliferative activity of the chemical library provided 2,5-diaminobenzamide as the initial hit. The confirmation and the optimization of hit were performed by synthesis followed by the evaluation of growth inhibitory activity against human cancer cell lines. The most active growth inhibitor showed IC(50) of 1.0 microM. The compound 7 increased not only sub-G1 population but also number of cells which are stained with Annexin V-FITC and 7-AAD, suggesting that compound 7 induced cell death is apoptosis.