Pusan National University

Selective depolymerization of PET into targeted xylene monomers was achieved through Ru/TiO 2 -mediated oil–water interfacial chemistry.

INTRODUCTION We investigated the efficacy of a multidomain intervention (MI) via face‐to‐face and video communication platforms using a tablet personal computer application in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS Three hundred participants with MCI and ≥ 1 modifiable dementia risk factor, aged 60‐85 years, were randomly assigned to either the MI group, who underwent a 24‐week intervention, or the control group, who received usual care. RESULTS The overall adherence rate to MI was 84.7%. The adjusted mean change from baseline at 24 weeks in the total scale index score of the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status was 8.43 in the MI group and 4.26 in the control group (difference, 4.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.92‐6.43; p < 0.001). MI showed significant beneficial effects on cognition in both apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 carriers and noncarriers. DISCUSSION MI can exert beneficial effects on the cognition of patients with MCI. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05023057 Highlights Although the controls also demonstrated improved performance in cognition, multidomain interventions showed significantly greater benefits for cognition in MCI compared to the controls in a randomized controlled trial. Multidomain interventions improved depression and quality of life. Multidomain interventions significantly positively impacted cognition in both APOE ε4 carriers and noncarriers. Multidomain interventions may be more effective for amnestic than nonamnestic MCI.

The amount of information contained in speech signals is a fundamental concern of speech-based technologies and is particularly relevant in speech perception. Measuring the mutual information of actual speech signals is non-trivial, and quantitative measurements have not been extensively conducted to date. Recent advancements in machine learning have made it possible to directly measure mutual information using data. This study utilized neural estimators of mutual information to estimate the information content in speech signals. The high-dimensional speech signal was divided into segments and then compressed using Mel-scale filter bank, which approximates the non-linear frequency perception of the human ear. The filter bank outputs were then truncated based on the dynamic range of the auditory system. This data compression preserved a significant amount of information from the original high-dimensional speech signal. The amount of information varied, depending on the categories of the speech sounds, with relatively higher mutual information in vowels compared to consonants. Furthermore, the information available in the speech signals, as processed by the auditory model, decreased as the dynamic range was reduced.

Aims We aimed to examine the recent trends in the use of acid suppression therapies, including proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), histamine‐2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) and potassium‐competitive acid blockers (P‐CABs), in patients undergoing dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) as aspirin‐clopidogrel following coronary stent implantation in South Korea between 2018 and 2022. Methods This observational study analysed data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) on patients who underwent coronary stent implantation and received aspirin‐clopidogrel DAPT. Patients who received acid suppression therapy for >60 days during DAPT were included in the analysis. Trends in the use of PPIs, H2RAs and P‐CABs were assessed at 6‐month intervals using the Cochran–Armitage trend test. Results Of the 128 121 patients studied who received DAPT, 61 731 (48.2%) were prescribed acid suppression therapy. The proportion of patients receiving concomitant acid suppressants with DAPT increased from 42.8% in 2018 to 53.8% in 2022. PPIs were the most commonly used therapies (78.9%), followed by H2RAs (14.6%) and P‐CABs (6.5%). PPI use peaked in 2020 and declined thereafter, whereas P‐CAB use steadily increased, surpassing that of H2RA by 2021. Conclusions The landscape of acid suppression therapy for patients undergoing DAPT has evolved with a growing preference for P‐CABs. This shift highlights the need for further research comparing the efficacy and safety of acid suppressants to guide clinical decision making.

Cupric oxide (CuO) is a promising p-type semiconducting oxide for many critical fields such as energy conversion and storage, and gas sensors, attributed to their unique optoelectrical properties and cost-effectiveness....

The observation of superconductivity in antiperovskite Sr3SnO crystals has sparked significant interest in understanding its underlying mechanism and fabricating them in thin film forms. To date, molecular beam epitaxy has been used to prepare Sr3SnO thin films, but superconductivity has not been observed. Sr deficiency and subsequent hole doping have been suggested as crucial for the emergent superconductivity, but difficulty in sample preparation due to high chemical instability of this material system has posed challenges for systematic and extensive studies. In this study, we report the fabrication of Sr3SnO thin films through co-sputtering of Sr and SnO2 and investigate the stoichiometry effect on the structural properties of Sr3SnO thin films using a combinatorial approach. A single Sr3SnO phase is observed over a wide range of off-stoichiometric Sr/Sn ratio regions, with preferred orientation changing depending on the Sr/Sn ratio. The formation of intermetallic Sr–Sn compounds in highly Sr-deficient regions suggests the need for careful consideration in elucidating the origin of superconductivity. The single orientation along the [002] direction and lattice parameter change due to biaxial strain applied by using a LAO substrate are indicative of the possible epitaxial growth of antiperovskite oxides using sputtering. Our experimental approach and findings pave the way for high-throughput preparation and characterization of antiperovskite oxides, thus encouraging research on antiperovskite oxides as well as other exotic materials involving highly reactive elements.

Although various colorectal cancer (CRC)‐targeted nanoparticles have been developed to selectively deliver anticancer agents to tumor tissues, severe off‐target side effects still persist due to unwanted systemic nanoparticle distribution, limiting the therapeutic outcome. Here, by elucidating a tumor‐selective nanoparticle delivery mechanism occurring at the colorectal lumen–tumor interface, an alternative CRC‐targeted delivery route is proposed, which enables highly tumor‐selective delivery without systemic distribution, through direct drug delivery from the outside of the body (colorectal lumen) to tumors in the colorectum. Owing to the presence of accessible tumor‐specific receptors such as CD44 at the colorectal lumen–tumor interface, but not at the colorectal lumen–normal tissue interface, colorectal luminal surface (CLS)‐targeting ligand‐functionalized nanoparticles selectively accumulate in CRC tissues without systemic distribution, resulting in successful local CRC therapy. The findings suggest that CLS‐targeted lumen‐to‐tumor delivery can be a suitable strategy for highly CRC‐specific drug delivery for precise local CRC therapy.

We proposed 1.2 kV SiC trench MOSFETs with trenched P-source and buried p+ layers (BPL) to improve blocking capability. The trenched P-source effectively suppresses electric fields at a gate oxide through formation of deep p+ junctions. However, gate oxide near n-source at the untrenched regions for P-source can be exposed to the electric field under a high drain bias condition. The depletion expanded from BPL in the proposed SiC trench MOSFET reduces the electric field at the gate. Effects of the distance between P-source and gate (DPG) in the SiC trench MOSFETs were analyzed through TCAD simulation. In addition, static and dynamic characteristics including on-resistance, breakdown voltage, and switching loss for the fabricated SiC trench MOSFETs using the BPL structure were evaluated. Our results showed that the breakdown voltage was enhanced by the BPL structure without significant sacrifice of electrical characteristic such as an on-resistance and threshold voltage.

1.2 kV P-shielded Split Gate SiC MOSFETs (PSG-MOSFETs) were designed to achieve a reduced reverse transfer capaci-tance (C rss) and to effectively suppress electric field crowding at the gate oxide. The formation of the P-shielding region of PSG-MOSFETs was achieved without the necessity of an additional photo mask. The effect of the maximum electric field at the gate oxide (E ox,max) and specific on-resistance (R on,sp) by the P-shielding region was investigated by varying the width of the P-shielding region (W P). As the W P increases, the E ox,max is reduced due to the suppression of the electric field at the gate oxide. Conversely, the R on,sp increases due to the narrower current path in the JFET region. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the simulated C rss and gate-drain charge was conducted, and the reduced total switching energy losses (E total) of PSG-MOSFETs were verified via the simulation of a double pulse test. The PSG-MOSFET exhibited lower E ox,max , C rss , and E total in comparison to the Split Gate SiC MOSFET.

In the present paper, we develop a new goodness-of-fit test for the Birnbaum-Saunders distribution based on the probability plot. We utilize the sample correlation coefficient from the Birnbaum-Saunders probability plot as a measure of goodness of fit. Unfortunately, it is impossible or extremely difficult to obtain an explicit distribution of this sample correlation coefficient. To address this challenge, we employ extensive Monte Carlo simulations to obtain the empirical distribution of the sample correlation coefficient from the Birnbaum-Saunders probability plot. This empirical distribution allows us to determine the critical values alongside their corresponding significance levels, thus facilitating the computation of the p-value when the sample correlation coefficient is obtained. Finally, two real-data examples are provided for illustrative purposes.

Reliability demonstration tests (RDTs) to ensure a pre-specified reliability target with a stated confidence level are widely used in industry. A new two-stage RDT plan that is more efficient in terms of expected test duration and useful in practice than corresponding single-stage ones is proposed for Weibull and lognormal distributions, respectively. Accepting zero or one failure two-stage plans to minimize the expected test duration at various quality levels including a lifetime target are proposed and analyzed under Type I censoring and sample sizes designated. Numerical examples are studied to illustrate the proposed two-stage RDT plans.

The development of fibrous actuators with diverse actuation modes is expected to accelerate progress in active textiles, robotics, wearable electronics, and haptics. Despite the advances in responsive polymer-based actuating fibers, the available actuation modes are limited by the exclusive reliance of current technologies on thermotropic contraction along the fiber axis. To address this gap, the present study describes a reversible and spontaneous thermotropic elongation (~30%) in liquid crystal elastomer fibers produced via ultraviolet-assisted melt spinning. This elongation arises from the orthogonal alignment of smectogenic mesogens relative to the fiber axis, which contrasts the parallel alignment typically observed in nematic liquid crystal elastomer fibers and is achieved through mesophase control during extrusion. The fibers exhibiting thermotropic elongation enable active textiles increase pore size in response to temperature increase. The integration of contracting and elongating fibers within a single textile enables spatially distinct actuation, paving the way for innovations in smart clothing and fiber/textile actuators.

Seaweed farming has emerged as a potential Blue Carbon strategy, yet empirical estimates of carbon burial from such farms remain lacking in the literature. Here, we quantify carbon burial in 20 seaweed farms distributed globally, ranging from 2 to 300 years in operation and from 1 to 15,000 ha in size. The thickness of sediment layers and stocks of organic carbon accumulated below the farms increased with farm age, reaching 140 tC ha⁻¹ for the oldest farm. Organic carbon burial rates averaged 1.87 ± 0.73 tCO2e ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in farm sediments, twice that in reference sediments. The excess CO2e burial attributable to the seaweed farms averaged 1.06 ± 0.74 CO2e ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, confirming that seaweed farming in depositional environments buries carbon in the underlying sediments at rates towards the low range of that of Blue Carbon habitats, but increasing with farm age.