Anti-Inflammatory Effect for Atherosclerosis Progression by Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) Inhibitor in a Normoglycemic Rabbit Model.

Background And Objectives: We sought to investigate an anti-atherosclerotic and anti-inflammatory effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors in normoglycemic atherosclerotic rabbit model.

Methods: Male New Zealand white rabbits (n=26) were fed with a 1% high-cholesterol diet for 7 weeks followed by normal diet for 2 weeks. After balloon catheter injury, the rabbits were administered with the Dapagliflozin (1mg/kg/day) or control-medium for 8 weeks (n=13 for each group).

Author Correction: A frequency reconfigurable dipole antenna with solid-state plasma in silicon.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Synergistic protective effects of a statin and an angiotensin receptor blocker for initiation and progression of atherosclerosis.

Aim: Although the atheroprotective effects of statins and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are well-established, little is known about their additive effects, especially during the early period of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether combination of a statin and an ARB exerts synergistic anti-atherosclerotic effects, and to elucidate the mechanisms of combined effects.

Methods: Atherosclerotic plaques were developed in arteries of 23 rabbits using a high-cholesterol diet (HCD) and intra-arterial balloon inflation.

A frequency reconfigurable dipole antenna with solid-state plasma in silicon.

A frequency reconfigurable dipole antenna based on a silicon radiator is presented. The silicon radiator is activated with the aid of highly dense solid-state plasma by injecting carriers into the intrinsic region of p-i-n diodes. The fabrication and design guideline of the reconfigurable dipole antenna with this plasma radiator are described.

Low-Temperature Fabrication of Robust, Transparent, and Flexible Thin-Film Transistors with a Nanolaminated Insulator.

The lack of reliable, transparent, and flexible electrodes and insulators for applications in thin-film transistors (TFTs) makes it difficult to commercialize transparent, flexible TFTs (TF-TFTs). More specifically, conventional high process temperatures and the brittleness of these elements have been hurdles in developing flexible substrates vulnerable to heat. Here, we propose electrode and insulator fabrication techniques considering process temperature, transmittance, flexibility, and environmental stability.

Metallic TiCT MXene Gas Sensors with Ultrahigh Signal-to-Noise Ratio.

Achieving high sensitivity in solid-state gas sensors can allow the precise detection of chemical agents. In particular, detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at the parts per billion (ppb) level is critical for the early diagnosis of diseases. To obtain high sensitivity, two requirements need to be simultaneously satisfied: (i) low electrical noise and (ii) strong signal, which existing sensor materials cannot meet.

Nano-electromechanical Switch Based on a Physical Unclonable Function for Highly Robust and Stable Performance in Harsh Environments.

A physical unclonable function (PUF) device using a nano-electromechanical (NEM) switch was demonstrated. The most important feature of the NEM-switch-based PUF is its use of stiction. Stiction is one of the chronic problems associated with micro- and nano-electromechanical system (MEMS/NEMS) devices; however, here, it was utilized to intentionally implement a PUF for hardware-based security.

Reconfigurable Yagi-Uda antenna based on a silicon reflector with a solid-state plasma.

This paper describes the fabrication and characterization of a reconfigurable Yagi-Uda antenna based on a silicon reflector with a solid-state plasma. The silicon reflector, composed of serially connected p-i-n diodes, forms a highly dense solid-state plasma by injecting electrons and holes into the intrinsic region. When this plasma silicon reflector is turned on, the front-realized gain of the antenna increases by more than 2 dBi beyond 5.

Highly stable 2D material (2DM) field-effect transistors (FETs) with wafer-scale multidyad encapsulation.

Field-effect transistors (FETs) composed of 2D materials (2DMs) such as transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) materials show unstable electrical characteristics in ambient air due to the high sensitivity of 2DMs to water adsorbates. In this work, in order to demonstrate the long-term retention of electrical characteristics of a TMD FET, a multidyad encapsulation method was applied to a MoS FET and thereby its durability was warranted for one month. It was well known that the multidyad encapsulation method was effective to mitigate high sensitivity to ambient air in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) composed of organic materials.

Physically Transient Memory on a Rapidly Dissoluble Paper for Security Application.

We report the transient memory device by means of a water soluble SSG (solid sodium with glycerine) paper. This material has a hydroscopic property hence it can be soluble in water. In terms of physical security of memory devices, prompt abrogation of a memory device which stored a large number of data is crucial when it is stolen because all of things have identified information in the memory device.

Electrothermal Annealing (ETA) Method to Enhance the Electrical Performance of Amorphous-Oxide-Semiconductor (AOS) Thin-Film Transistors (TFTs).

An electro-thermal annealing (ETA) method, which uses an electrical pulse of less than 100 ns, was developed to improve the electrical performance of array-level amorphous-oxide-semiconductor (AOS) thin-film transistors (TFTs). The practicality of the ETA method was experimentally demonstrated with transparent amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) TFTs. The overall electrical performance metrics were boosted by the proposed method: up to 205% for the trans-conductance (gm), 158% for the linear current (Ilinear), and 206% for the subthreshold swing (SS).

Controllable electrical and physical breakdown of poly-crystalline silicon nanowires by thermally assisted electromigration.

The importance of poly-crystalline silicon (poly-Si) in semiconductor manufacturing is rapidly increasing due to its highly controllable conductivity and excellent, uniform deposition quality. With the continuing miniaturization of electronic components, low dimensional structures such as 1-dimensional nanowires (NWs) have attracted a great deal of attention. But such components have a much higher current density than 2- or 3-dimensional films, and high current can degrade device lifetime and lead to breakdown problems.

Spontaneous Low-Frequency Cerebral Hemodynamics Oscillations in Restless Legs Syndrome with Periodic Limb Movements During Sleep: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study.

Background And Purpose: Periodic limb movements (PLM) during sleep (PLMS) are associated with cortical and cardiovascular activation. Changes in cerebral hemodynamics caused by cortical activity can be measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). We investigated oscillatory components of cerebral hemodynamics during PLM and different sleep stages in restless legs syndrome (RLS) patients with PLMS.

Intraoperative combined color and fluorescent images-based sentinel node mapping in the porcine lung: comparison of indocyanine green with or without albumin premixing.

Objectives: We developed a multimodal optical imaging system for intraoperative visualization of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). This study is to validate our system by showing SLNs in the lung through combined optical color and fluorescent image with indocyanine green (ICG) and ICG with human serum albumin (HSA).

Methods: Identical ICG concentrations of ICG only or ICG:HSA was injected into the rat footpad and porcine lung.

Catching the right wave: evaluating wave energy resources and potential compatibility with existing marine and coastal uses.

Many hope that ocean waves will be a source for clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy, yet wave energy conversion facilities may affect marine ecosystems through a variety of mechanisms, including competition with other human uses. We developed a decision-support tool to assist siting wave energy facilities, which allows the user to balance the need for profitability of the facilities with the need to minimize conflicts with other ocean uses. Our wave energy model quantifies harvestable wave energy and evaluates the net present value (NPV) of a wave energy facility based on a capital investment analysis.

Depth-dependent cerebral hemodynamic responses following direct cortical electrical stimulation (DCES) revealed by in vivo dual-optical imaging techniques.

We studied depth-dependent cerebral hemodynamic responses of rat brain following direct cortical electrical stimulation (DCES) in vivo with optical recording of intrinsic signal (ORIS) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). ORIS is used to visualize the immediate hemodynamic changes in cortical areas following the stimulation, whereas NIRS measures the hemodynamic changes originating from subcortical areas. We found strong hemodynamic changes in relation to DCES both in ORIS and NIRS data.

Policosanol content and composition in perilla seeds.

Policosanols, long-chain alcohols, have many beneficial physiological activities. Contents and compositions in perilla seeds (Perilla frutescens) produced in Korea and China were determined. Waxy materials were extracted from perilla seeds using hot hexane.