A Simple Nomogram for Predicting Stroke-Associated Pneumonia in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

The purpose of this study was to develop a prediction model for stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) based on risk factors for SAP and to suggest nursing interventions to prevent SAP. In addition, a nomogram was developed to enhance its utility in nursing practice. The retrospective cohort study included 551 patients hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke at a university hospital in South Korea.

Role of α-Defensin and the Microbiome in Prosthetic Joint Infection: A Prospective Cohort Study in Korea.

The utility of α-defensin (AD), leukocyte esterase (LE) levels, and metagenomics sequencing as diagnostic tools for prosthetic joint infection (PJI) has been suggested, but there are few studies among the Asian population. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of various biomarkers for PJI and the role of the microbiome in the synovial fluid of patients with prostheses. Patients with suspected knee PJI were enrolled, and their blood and synovial fluid were collected.

Immunogenicity and Safety of Vaccines against Coronavirus Disease in Actively Treated Patients with Solid Tumors: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: We aimed to assess the humoral response to and reactogenicity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination according to the vaccine type and to analyze factors associated with immunogenicity in actively treated solid cancer patients (CPs).

Materials And Methods: Prospective cohorts of CPs, undergoing anticancer treatment, and healthcare workers (HCWs) were established. The participants had no history of previous COVID-19 and received either mRNA-based or adenovirus vector-based (AdV) vaccines as the primary series.

A heterologous AZD1222 priming and BNT162b2 boosting regimen more efficiently elicits neutralizing antibodies, but not memory T cells, than the homologous BNT162b2 regimen.

Background: Comparative analyses of SARS-CoV-2-specific immune responses elicited by diverse prime-boost regimens are required to establish efficient regimens for the control of COVID-19.

Method: In this prospective observational cohort study, spike-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) alongside spike-specific T-cell responses in age-matched groups of homologous BNT162b2/BNT162b2 or AZD1222/AZD1222 vaccination, heterologous AZD1222/BNT162b2 vaccination, and prior wild-type SARS-CoV-2 infection/vaccination were evaluated.

Results: Peak immune responses were achieved after the second vaccine dose in the naïve vaccinated groups and after the first dose in the prior infection/vaccination group.

In Vitro Replication Inhibitory Activity of Xanthorrhizol against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2.

In spite of the large number of repositioned drugs and direct-acting antivirals in clinical trials for the management of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there are few cost-effective therapeutic options for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2 (SCoV2) infection. In this paper, we show that xanthorrhizol (XNT), a bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoid compound isolated from the Roxb., a ginger-line plant of the family , displays a potent antiviral efficacy in vitro against SCoV2 and other related coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-1 (SCoV1) and a common cold-causing human coronavirus.

Understanding the Connection Between the Gut-Brain Axis and Stress/Anxiety Disorders.

Purpose Of Review: We review the association of the microbiota-gut-brain axis and anxiety disorder or stress.

Recent Finding: The microbiota-gut-brain axis mechanism encompasses a bidirectional relationship between the brain and gastrointestinal organs. Dysregulation of the microbiota-gut-brain axis has been actively revealed in the context of various psychiatric diseases such as neurodevelopmental disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and depression.

Plasma level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in patients with postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression occurs in 10-15% of mothers. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a nerve growth factor that plays a role in neuroplasticity. We hypothesized that the concentration of BDNF is related to reproduction and childbirth, and that women with postpartum depression show alteration in BDNF level.

Genome Sequences of Two GH Clade SARS-CoV-2 Strains Isolated from Patients with COVID-19 in South Korea.

We report the genome sequences of two GH clade severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains isolated from nasopharyngeal swabs from patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in South Korea. These strains had two mutations in the untranslated regions and seven nonsynonymous substitutions in open reading frames, compared with Wuhan/Hu-1/2019, showing 99.96% sequence identity.

Association between the IL10 rs1800896 Polymorphism and Tardive Dyskinesia in Schizophrenia.

Objective: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a major immunoregulatory cytokine and its gene plays a fundamental role in anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activity. This study aimed to examine the association between the IL10 gene promoter -1082G/A polymorphism (rs1800896) and tardive dyskinesia (TD) in schizophrenia.

Methods: Two hundred and eighty unrelated Korean schizophrenic patients participated in this study (105 TD and 175 non-TD patients).

Improvement of Electrical Performance in P-Channel LTPS Thin-Film Transistor with a-Si:H Surface Passivation.

We report the effects of surface passivation by depositing a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layer on the electrical characteristics of low temperature polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (LTPS TFTs). The intrinsic a-Si:H layer was optimized by hydrogen dilution and its structural and electrical characteristics were investigated. The a-Si:H layer in the transition region between a-Si:H and µc-Si:H resulted in superior device characteristics.

Electron Beam Irradiated Al Doped ZnO Thin Films as Efficient Tunnel Recombination Junction for Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon/Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Tandem Solar Cells.

A tunnel recombination junction (TRJ) layer for hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H)/ Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) tandem solar cells is investigated. An Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin film is applied to the TRJ, and the influence of electron beam (e-beam) irradiation on defects along the TRJ is investigated. The AZO thin films are prepared using radio frequency (RF) sputtering and the e-beam is irradiated at 200 W RF power and 2 keV DC power for 5 min.

Analysis of Laser Injection Condition and Electrical Properties in Local BSF for Laser Fired Contact c-Si Solar Cell Applications.

A crystalline silicon (c-Si) local-back-contact (LBC) solar cell for which a laser-condition-optimized surface-recombination velocity (SRV), a contact resistance (Rc), and local back surface fields (LBSFs) were utilized is reported. The effect of the laser condition on the rear-side electrical properties of the laser-fired LBC solar cell was studied. The Nd:YAG-laser (1064-nm wavelength) power and frequency were varied to obtain LBSF values with a lower contact resistance.

Enhanced Haze Ratio on Glass by Novel Vapor Texturing Method.

State-of-the-art optical trapping designs are required to enhance the light trapping capabilities of tandem thin film silicon solar cells. The wet etch process is used to texture the glass surface by dipping in diluted acidic solutions such as HNO3 (nitric acid) and HF (hydrofluoric acid). For vapor texturing, the vapor was generated by adding silicon to HF:HNO3 acidic solution.

Improving Memory Characteristics of Hydrogenated Nanocrystalline Silicon Germanium Nonvolatile Memory Devices by Controlling Germanium Contents.

Nonvolatile memory (NVM) with silicon dioxide/silicon nitride/silicon oxynitride (ONO(n)) charge trap structure is a promising flash memory technology duo that will fulfill process compatibility for system-on-panel displays, down-scaling cell size and low operation voltage. In this research, charge trap flash devices were fabricated with ONO(n) stack gate insulators and an active layer using hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon germanium (nc-SiGe:H) films at a low temperature. In this study, the effect of the interface trap density on the performance of devices, including memory window and retention, was investigated.

Effective Light Trapping in Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells with Nano- and Microscale Structures on Glass Substrate.

For thin film silicon-based solar cells, effective light trapping at a broad range of wavelengths (400-1100 nm) is necessary. Normally, etching is only carried out with TCOs, such as SnO2:F and impurity doped ZnO, to form nano-sized craters in the surface morphology to confer a light trapping effect. However, in this study, prior to ZnO:Al etching, periodic structures on the glass substrates were made by photolithography and wet etching to increase the light scattering and internal reflection.

Method for Fabricating Textured High-Haze ZnO:Al Transparent Conduction Oxide Films on Chemically Etched Glass Substrates.

We developed a technique for forming textured aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films on glass substrates, which were etched using a mixture of hydrofluoric (HF) and hydrochloric (HCl) acids. The etching depth and surface roughness increased with an increase in the HF content and the etching time. The HF-based residues produced insoluble hexafluorosilicate anion- and oxide impurity-based semipermeable films, which reduced the etching rate.

Boron Oxygen Pair Effect in p+ Emitter and Nanosized Boron Rich Layer by Fold Coordination Analysis for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Applications.

N-type substrates possess better material characteristics than p-type substrates for high efficiency mass producible Si solar cells with HIT, IBC structures. The major drawbacks of these structures are a complicated fabrication process and an expensive unit cost. In this paper, the boron emitter doping profile of a nanosized boron rich layer (BRL), for which the boron and oxygen concentrations are correlated, is optimized to fabricate high efficiency solar cells on an n-type substrate.

Advanced Passivation Technology and Loss Factor Minimization for High Efficiency Solar Cells.

High-efficiency Si solar cells have attracted great attention from researchers, scientists, photovoltaic (PV) industry engineers for the past few decades. With thin wafers, surface passivation becomes necessary to increase the solar cells efficiency by overcoming several induced effects due to associated crystal defects and impurities of c-Si. This paper discusses suitable passivation schemes and optimization techniques to achieve high efficiency at low cost.

Investigation of Electrical and Optical Properties of Highly Transparent TCO/Ag/TCO Multilayer.

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) have been widely used as transparent electrodes for opto-electronic devices, such as solar cells, flat-panel displays, and light-emitting diodes, because of their unique characteristics of high optical transmittance and low electrical resistivity. Among various TCO materials, zinc oxide based films have recently received much attention because they have advantages over commonly used indium and tin-based oxide films. Most TCO films, however, exhibit valleys of transmittance in the wavelength range of 550-700 nm, lowering the average transmittance in the visible region and decreasing short-circuit current (Isc) of solar cells.

Boron Doped Nanocrystalline Film with Improved Work Function as a Buffer Layer in Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells.

We investigated thin film silicon solar cells with boron doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon/ hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide [p-type nc-Si:H/a-SiOx:H] layer. First, we researched the bandgap engineering of diborane (B2H6) doped wide bandgap hydrogenated nanocryslline silicon (p-type nc-Si:H) films, which have excellent electrical properties of high dark conductivity, and low activation energy. The films prepared with lower doping ratio and higher hydrogen dilution ratio had higher optical gap (Eg), with higher dark conductivity (σ(d)), and lower activation energy (Ea).

Analysis of Resistance and Surface Recombination Velocities by Contact Coverage for Optimizing Electrical Loss in c-Si Local Back Contact.

Recently, the importance of solar cell research has emerged due to emerging social issues such as environmental pollution problems and rising oil prices. Accordingly, each company is studying to make solar cell of high efficiency. In order to fabricate high-efficiency solar cells, the two major techniques have to be applied on the rear.