Discovery of 5,7-Dimethoxy-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenoxy)-chromen-4-one with Lipid Lowering Effects in Hepatocytes.

The population with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is increasing. However, no medicine is indicated for treating these diseases clinically nowadays. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a new drug to overcome NAFLD and NASH.

Continuous Speech for Improved Learning Pathological Voice Disorders.

Numerous studies had successfully differentiated normal and abnormal voice samples. Nevertheless, further classification had rarely been attempted. This study proposes a novel approach, using continuous Mandarin speech instead of a single vowel, to classify four common voice disorders (i.

The Expression and Prognostic Value of Cancer Stem Cell Markers, NRF2, and Its Target Genes in TAE/TACE-Treated Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

: Activation of NRF2, a key transcription factor of cytoprotectant against oxidative stress, and its target genes are associated with aggressive tumor progression, metastasis and poor survival. In addition, NRF2 signaling mediates cancer stem cell (CSC)-like properties in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Moreover, CSCs have been associated with HCC onset and unfavorable prognosis.

1.8 V Aqueous Symmetric Carbon-Based Supercapacitors with Agarose-Bound Activated Carbons in an Acidic Electrolyte.

The specific energy of an aqueous carbon supercapacitor is generally small, resulting mainly from a narrow potential window of aqueous electrolytes. Here, we introduced agarose, an ecologically compatible polymer, as a novel binder to fabricate an activated carbon supercapacitor, enabling a wider potential window attributed to a high overpotential of the hydrogen-evolution reaction (HER) of agarose-bound activated carbons in sulfuric acid. Assembled symmetric aqueous cells can be galvanostatically cycled up to 1.

Few-Layer Graphene Sheet-Passivated Porous Silicon Toward Excellent Electrochemical Double-Layer Supercapacitor Electrode.

Few-layer graphene sheet-passivated porous silicon (PSi) as an outstanding electrochemical double-layer supercapacitor electrode was demonstrated. The PSi matrix was formed by electrochemical etching of a doped silicon wafer and was further surface-passivated with few-layer graphene sheets by a Ni-assisted chemical vapor deposition process where a wide range of porous PSi structures, including mesoporous, macroporous, and hybrid porous structures were created during the graphene growth as temperature increases. The microstructural and graphene-passivation effects on the capacitive performance of the PSi were investigated in detail.

Plasma-Assisted Synthesis of High-Mobility Atomically Layered Violet Phosphorus.

Two-dimensional layered materials such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, and black phosphorus have demonstrated outstanding properties due to electron confinement as the thickness is reduced to atomic scale. Among the phosphorus allotropes, black phosphorus, and violet phosphorus possess layer structure with the potential to be scaled down to atomically thin film. For the first time, the plasma-assisted synthesis of atomically layered violet phosphorus has been achieved.

Highly effective field-effect mobility amorphous InGaZnO TFT mediated by directional silver nanowire arrays.

In this work, we demonstrate sputtered amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) with a record high effective field-effect mobility of 174 cm(2)/V s by incorporating silver nanowire (AgNW) arrays to channel electron transport. Compared to the reference counterpart without nanowires, the over 5-fold enhancement in the effective field-effect mobility exhibits clear dependence on the orientation as well as the surface coverage ratio of silver nanowires. Detailed material and device analyses reveal that during the room-temperature IGZO sputtering indium and oxygen diffuse into the nanowire matrix while the nanowire morphology and good contact between IGZO and nanowires are maintained.

Phase-pure iron pyrite nanocrystals for low-cost photodetectors.

Earth-abundant iron pyrite (FeS2) shows great potential as a light absorber for solar cells and photodetectors due to their high absorption coefficient (>10(5) cm(-1)). In this paper, high-quality phase-pure and single crystalline pyrite nanocrystals were synthesized via facile, low-cost, and environment friendly hydrothermal method. The molar ratio of sulphur to iron and the reaction time play a crucial role in determining the quality and morphology of FeS2 nanocrystals.

Scalable graphene synthesised by plasma-assisted selective reaction on silicon carbide for device applications.

Graphene, a two-dimensional material with honeycomb arrays of carbon atoms, has shown outstanding physical properties that make it a promising candidate material for a variety of electronic applications. To date, several issues related to the material synthesis and device fabrication need to be overcome. Despite the fact that large-area graphene films synthesised by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) can be grown with relatively few defects, the required transfer process creates wrinkles and polymer residues that greatly reduce its performance in device applications.

Single CuO(x) nanowire memristor: forming-free resistive switching behavior.

CuOx nanowires were synthesized by a low-cost and large-scale electrochemical process with AAO membranes at room temperature and its resistive switching has been demonstrated. The switching characteristic exhibits forming-free and low electric-field switching operation due to coexistence of significant amount of defects and Cu nanocrystals in the partially oxidized nanowires. The detailed resistive switching characteristics of CuOx nanowire systems have been investigated and possible switching mechanisms are systematically proposed based on the microstructural and chemical analysis via transmission electron microscopy.

Large scale and orientation-controllable nanotip structures on CuInS₂, Cu(In,Ga)S₂, CuInSe₂, and Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ by low energy ion beam bombardment process: growth and characterization.

One-step facile methodology to create nanotip arrays on chalcopyrite materials (such as CuInS2, Cu(In,Ga)S2, CuInSe2, and Cu(In,Ga)Se2) via a low energy ion beam bombardment process has been demonstrated. The mechanism of formation for nanotip arrays has been proposed by sputtering yields of metals and reduction of metals induced by the ion beam bombardment process. The optical reflectance of these chalcopyrite nanotip arrays has been characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometer and the efficient light-trapping effect has been observed.

A solar-thermal energy harvesting scheme: enhanced heat capacity of molten HITEC salt mixed with Sn/SiO(x) core-shell nanoparticles.

We demonstrated enhanced solar-thermal storage by releasing the latent heat of Sn/SiO(x) core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) embedded in a eutectic salt. The microstructures and chemical compositions of Sn/SiO(x) core-shell NPs were characterized. In situ heating XRD provides dynamic crystalline information about the Sn/SiO(x) core-shell NPs during cyclic heating processes.

Improved efficiency of a large-area Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cell by a nontoxic hydrogen-assisted solid Se vapor selenization process.

A nontoxic hydrogen-assisted solid Se vapor selenization process (HASVS) technique to achieve a large-area (40 × 30 cm(2)) Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar panel with enhanced efficiencies from 7.1 to 10.8% (12.

13% efficiency hybrid organic/silicon-nanowire heterojunction solar cell via interface engineering.

Interface carrier recombination currently hinders the performance of hybrid organic-silicon heterojunction solar cells for high-efficiency low-cost photovoltaics. Here, we introduce an intermediate 1,1-bis[(di-4-tolylamino)phenyl]cyclohexane (TAPC) layer into hybrid heterojunction solar cells based on silicon nanowires (SiNWs) and conjugate polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The highest power conversion efficiency reaches a record 13.

Non-antireflective scheme for efficiency enhancement of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 nanotip array solar cells.

We present systematic works in characterization of CIGS nanotip arrays (CIGS NTRs). CIGS NTRs are obtained by a one-step ion-milling process by a direct-sputtering process of CIGS thin films (CIGS TF) without a postselenization process. At the surface of CIGS NTRs, a region extending to 100 nm in depth with a lower copper concentration compared to that of CIGS TF has been discovered.

Manipulated transformation of filamentary and homogeneous resistive switching on ZnO thin film memristor with controllable multistate.

A bias polarity-manipulated transformation from filamentary to homogeneous resistive switching was demonstrated on a Pt/ZnO thin film/Pt device. Two types of switching behaviors, exhibiting different resistive switching characteristics and memory performances were investigated in detail. The detailed transformation mechanisms are systematically proposed.

Formation mechanism of SiGe nanorod arrays by combining nanosphere lithography and Au-assisted chemical etching.

The formation mechanism of SiGe nanorod (NR) arrays fabricated by combining nanosphere lithography and Au-assisted chemical etching has been investigated. By precisely controlling the etching rate and time, the lengths of SiGe NRs can be tuned from 300 nm to 1 μm. The morphologies of SiGe NRs were found to change dramatically by varying the etching temperatures.