Demand is increasing for photovoltaics (PVs) as a result of the development of the Internet of Things and edge computing technologies. As the lighting environment is different for the applications, thus, PVs must be adjustable to various light environments in which systems are installed. PVs should therefore be capable of easily changing their morphology without damaging the cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe urban application of photovoltaics is necessary to achieve carbon-free electricity production. However, the serial connections within modules cause problems under partial shading conditions, which is inevitable in urban applications. Therefore, a partial shading-tolerance photovoltaic module is needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a tachinid parasitoid of several significant heteropteran agricultural pests, including the southern green stink bug, , and leaf-footed bug, . To be used successfully as a biological control agent, the fly must selectively parasitize the target host species. Differences in the host preference of were assessed by assembling the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of 38 flies reared from field-collected and .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFG proteins are major signaling partners for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Although stepwise structural changes during GPCR-G protein complex formation and guanosine diphosphate (GDP) release have been reported, no information is available with regard to guanosine triphosphate (GTP) binding. Here, we used a novel Bayesian integrative modeling framework that combines data from hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, tryptophan-induced fluorescence quenching, and metadynamics simulations to derive a kinetic model and atomic-level characterization of stepwise conformational changes incurred by the β-adrenergic receptor (βAR)-Gs complex after GDP release and GTP binding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe structural stability of various structures (railroads, bridges, buildings, etc.) is lowered due to freezing because of the decreasing outside temperature in winter. To prevent damage from freezing, a technology for de-icing has been developed using an electric-heating composite.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA simple, scalable spray drying method was developed for high-yield epsilon iron oxide (ε-FeO) synthesis. The ε-FeO particle size can be tailored by varying the annealing temperature and molar ratio of Fe/Si, producing a high-purity ε-phase. This strategy also enables ferromagnetic resonance tuning, making it potentially usable in millimeter-wave absorbers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe application of photovoltaics (PVs) is expanding in various locations ranging from industrial facilities to residential housing. The emphasized concept in the PVs field is shifting from "watt-per-cost" to "energy-yield-per-watt." To attain a high energy yield, fixed modules are not well suited to capture both direct and omnidirectional light.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To develop and validate a deep learning-based system that predicts the largest ascending and descending aortic diameters at chest CT through automatic thoracic aortic segmentation and identifies aneurysms in each segment.
Materials And Methods: In this retrospective study conducted from July 2019 to February 2021, a U-Net and a postprocessing algorithm for thoracic aortic segmentation and measurement were developed by using a dataset (dataset A) that included 315 CT studies split into training, hyperparameter-tuning, and testing sets. The U-Net and postprocessing algorithm were associated with a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine series filter and visualization interface and were further validated by using a dataset (dataset B) that included 1400 routine CT studies.
J Hosp Palliat Care
March 2022
Purpose: This descriptive study compared the perceptions, determinants, and needs of patients, family members, nurses, and physicians regarding life-sustaining treatment decisions for patients with hematologic malignancies in the hematology-oncology department of a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea.
Methods: In total, 147 subjects were recruited, gave written consent, and provided data by completing a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, the chi-square test, and the Fisher exact test.
Photovoltaic energy systems in urban situations need to achieve both high electricity production and high capacity in restricted installation areas. To maximize power output, solar-tracking systems tilt solar arrays to track the sun's position, and typically flat modules are used to maximize the cross-sectional area. Such tracking systems are complex and expensive, and flat modules cannot utilize omnidirectional incident light.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study assessed the effect of a single bolus administration of lidocaine on the prevention of tourniquet-induced hypertension (TIH) and compared the effect of lidocaine to that of ketamine in patients undergoing general anesthesia.
Methods: This randomized, controlled, double-blind study included 75 patients who underwent lower limb surgery using a tourniquet. The patients were administered lidocaine (1.
Fast recovery, high sensitivity, high selectivity, and room temperature (RT) sensing characteristics of NO gas sensors are essential for environmental monitoring, artificial intelligence, and inflammatory diagnosis of asthma patients. However, the conventional semiconductor-type gas sensors have poor sensing characteristics that need to be solved, such as slow recovery speeds (>360 s), low sensitivity (3.8), and high operating temperatures (>300 °C).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2021
Arrestins were initially identified for their role in homologous desensitization and internalization of G protein-coupled receptors. Receptor-bound arrestins also initiate signaling by interacting with other signaling proteins. Arrestins scaffold MAPK signaling cascades, MAPK kinase kinase (MAP3K), MAPK kinase (MAP2K), and MAPK.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the rapid development of stretchable and wearable technologies, stretchable interconnection technology also demanded along it. Stretchable interconnections should have high stretchability and stable conductivity for use as an electrode. In addition, to develop to commercialization scale from research scale, a simple fabrication process that can be scaled up, and the stretchable interconnection should be able to be electrically connected to devices or modules directly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) is regulated by a phosphorylation cascade comprising three kinases, MAPK kinase kinase (MAP3K), MAPK kinase (MAP2K), and MAPK. MAP2K1 and MAPK2K2, also known as MEK1 and MEK2, activate ERK1 and ERK2. The structure of the MAPK signaling cascade has been studied, but high-resolution structural studies of MAP2Ks have often focused on kinase domains or docking sites, but not on full-length proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConventional crystalline silicon solar cell photovoltaic module technology requires much more development due to the challenges of efficiency loss and reliability problems such as browning damage. As an alternative to conventional ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)-glass encapsulation, silicone-based encapsulation is a promising innovation. Added to the many advantages of silicone based encapsulation for Si solar cells, here we present surface modification of silicone encapsulation with hierarchical structures inspired by leaf epidermis structures that improve light capture and hydrophobicity of the module surface using a simple, large-area silane and ozone treatment technique.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants and photovoltaics share the same purpose as harvesting sunlight. Therefore, botanical studies could lead to new breakthroughs in photovoltaics. However, the basic mechanism of photosynthesis is different to semiconductor-based photovoltaics and the gap between photosynthesis and solar cells must be bridged before we can apply the botanical principles to photovoltaics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotovoltaic panels based on crystalline Si solar cells are the most widely utilized renewable source of electricity, and there has been a significant effort to produce panels with a higher energy conversion efficiency. Typically, these developments have focused on cell-level device modifications to restrict the recombination of photo-generated charge carriers, and concepts such as back surface field, passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC), interdigitated back contact, and heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer solar cells have been established. Here, we propose quasi-Fermi level control using periodic local focusing of incident light by encapsulation with polydimethylsiloxane to improve the performance of solar cells at the module-level; such improvements can complement cell-level enhancements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is important to develop solar cells that can capture and utilize omnidirectional light in urban environments, where photovoltaic (PV) devices are installed in fixed directions. We report a new design for such light capture, which mimics the structure of a leaf epidermis. First, we analyzed the epidermal structures of different plant species in detail so that we could copy them and fabricate light-trapping layers with different shapes: as lens arrays, pillars, and lens arrays with rough surfaces.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant leaves are efficient light scavengers. We take a 'botanical approach' toward the creation of next-generation photovoltaic cells for urban environments. Our cells exhibit high energy conversion efficiency under indirect weak illumination.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBoth photothermal and photovoltaic infrared (IR) detectors employ sensing materials that have an optical band gap. Different from these conventional materials, graphene has a conical band structure that imposes zero band gap. In this study, using the semimetallic multilayer graphene, IR detection at room temperature is realized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe demand for easy-to-use portable electric devices that are combined with essential items in everyday life, such as apparel, has increased. Hence, significant research has been conducted into the development of wearable technology by fabrication of electronic devices with a textile structure based on fiber or fabric. However, the challenge to develop a fabrication method for wearable devices based on weaving or sewing technology still remains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To update vertebral augmentation literature by comparing outcomes between vertebroplasty (VP), balloon kyphoplasty (BKP), vertebral augmentation with implant (VAI), and nonsurgical management (NSM) for treating vertebral compression fractures (VCFs).
Methods: A PubMed literature search was conducted with keywords , , , and for English-language articles from February 1, 2011, to November 22, 2016. Among the results, 25 met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis.
Objectives: To evaluate opioid usage patterns for patients with low back pain (LBP) with and without spinal fusion surgery (fusion patients and nonfusion patients, respectively), including long-term prescriptions post fusion.
Study Design: Claims data of outpatient pharmaceutical prescriptions from privately insured patients.
Methods: The 3-year utilization, cost, and morphine milligram equivalents (MME) of opioid prescriptions were evaluated for patients with LBP with and without lumbar fusion.
In recent research of resistive random access memory (RRAM), solving the degradation phenomenon induced by both a high forming voltage to form the conducting filaments (CFs) and a high reset current is one of the main issues encountered. In this study, to overcome these problems, we propose forming-free bipolar resistive switching (BRS) behaviors by employing an ITO film with abundant oxygen vacancies, instead of conventional CF based RRAM requiring a forming process, and systematically investigate the feasibility of forming free BRS behaviors and a possible switching mechanism. Compared to conventional CF based RRAM devices, it is possible for the proposed devices to achieve stable BRS properties (i.
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