Journals
2025 EN
Zhai Ting · Mazzucato Patrizia · Ricciardi Catherine
+5 more
Abstract Rare genetic DNA repair deficiency syndromes can cause immunodeficiency, neurological disorders, and cancer. In the general population, inter‐individual variation in DNA repair capacity (DRC) influences susceptibility to cancer and age‐related diseases. Genome‐wide association studies and functional analyses indicate that defects in multiple DNA repair pathways jointly increase disease risk, but previous technologies do not permit comprehensive population‐level analysis. Fluorescence multiplex host cell reactivation (FM‐HCR) assays now allow direct quantification of DRC across six major DNA repair pathways. DRC is assessed in phytohemagglutinin‐stimulated primary lymphocytes from 56 healthy individuals, with reproducibility validated in 10 individuals across up to five independent blood draws. Generalized analytical pipelines are developed to systematically correct batch effects and experimental confounders. Significant inter‐individual variation is observed across 10 reporter assays measuring distinct repair processes, with weak correlations between pathways suggesting independent disease susceptibility contribution. A complementary pipeline analyzing comet repair kinetics allows integration with previously reported comet data from the same individuals. This study underscores the sensitivity of FM‐HCR assays in detecting subtle biological differences and establishes standardized methodologies for population research. The findings and open‐source tools advance precision health by enabling comprehensive exploration of genetic and environmental determinants of DRC, supporting targeted interventions to maintain genomic integrity.
Journals
2025 EN
Wilson Kelly R. · Rankin Tanner O. · Wade Jordon
+5 more
Abstract Many soil health indicators have been developed by researchers to aid farmer decision‐making yet rarely incorporate farmer preferences in the presentation of that data. To fill this gap, we conducted focus groups with Midwestern row crop farmers to elicit the characteristics they want to translate data from soil health indicators into useable information that inform management decisions. Farmers were interested in the potential economic and conservation benefits of soil health, but current soil health report outputs are difficult to understand and put in practice. Farmers wanted clear management guidance that is tailored to their specific edaphic context. While they expressed ambivalence about specific indicators, they wanted to understand a full picture of their soil health. Moreover, they expressed interest in using the information to both affirm current management practices and adopt future practices. Findings suggest that improved alignment of current research questions with stakeholder needs can help harness the potential of soil health.
Journals
2025 EN
Toprak Onur · Maudet Florian · Wollgarten Markus
+4 more
Abstract A memristive device is presented based on a Ti/GaO x /W stack with an amorphous GaO x layer deposited at a low temperature (250 °C) using plasma‐enhanced atomic layer deposition. The device fabrication is compatible with a standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor back‐end‐of‐line technology. The area dependence of the resistance values for both high and low resistance states indicates that switching takes place over the entire device area via a non‐filamentary‐based mechanism. Evidence is provided that the switching process originates from a field‐driven oxygen exchange between the interfacial TiO x layer and the GaO x one as well as from the charging/discharging of interfacial trap states. The devices reveal self‐rectifying characteristics with high cycle‐to‐cycle reproducibility. Multiple states can be programmed with 12 distinct intermediate states during potentiation, and 11 distinct states during depression. This amorphous GaO x ‐based memristive device with highly reproducible multi‐level resistance states shows great potential for enabling artificial synapses in neuromorphic applications.
Journals
2025 EN
Chung ShengTi · Langpoklakpam Catherine · Dong Yicong
+10 more
Abstract This study utilizes a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition system to grow a β‐Ga 2 O 3 epitaxial layer on a sapphire substrate and fabricate lateral β‐Ga 2 O 3 metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect transistors (MOSFETs). To enhance the performance of the β‐Ga 2 O 3 MOSFET, a (Al x Ga 1‐x ) 2 O 3 spacer layer is introduced, with its aluminum (Al) composition modulated through energy band engineering. Three epitaxial samples are designed: a reference sample (without a spacer layer) and samples with (Al x Ga 1‐x ) 2 O 3 layers containing different Al compositions, specifically (Al 0.14 Ga 0.86 ) 2 O 3 and (Al 0.21 Ga 0.79 ) 2 O 3 . The influence of the Al composition in the (Al x Ga 1‐x ) 2 O 3 layer on the two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is investigated. The results show that a lower Al composition increases the carrier concentration in the 2DEG, boosting the saturation current (I D,sat ) from 2.94 to 7.88 mA mm −1 —a significant 168% improvement in the (Al x Ga 1‐x ) 2 O 3 /β‐Ga 2 O 3 stacked epitaxy structure. For the high‐Al‐composition barrier layer ((Al 0.21 Ga 0.79 ) 2 O 3 ), the higher energy barrier slightly reduces the turn‐on current but effectively increases the breakdown voltage, from 210 to 576 V—an improvement of 188%. These improvements result from the higher energy barrier of the β‐Ga 2 O 3 /(Al x Ga 1‐x ) 2 O 3 interface, which reduced the leakage current density. By optimizing the Al composition in (Al x Ga 1‐x ) 2 O 3 , transistors suitable for either high performance or high breakdown voltage are successfully produced.
Journals
2025 EN
Toprak Onur · Maudet Florian · Wollgarten Markus
+4 more
Memristive Devices In article number 2400765, Onur Toprak, Catherine Dubourdieu, and co‐workers propose a memristive device based on a mixed electronic ionic amorphous gallium oxide conductor. The resistive switching originates from a field‐driven oxygen exchange between the interfacial TiO x and the GaO x layers and from charge trapping/detrapping. Multiple highly repeatable states can be programmed in this self‐rectifying device both in potentiation and depression. This device shows potential to emulate biological synapses.
Journals
2025 EN
Haslam Catherine G. · Eckhardt Janis K. · Ayyaswamy Abhinand
+7 more
Abstract Anode‐free manufacturing of solid‐state batteries (SSBs) shows promise to maximize energy density by eliminating excess lithium (Li) and simplifying battery production. However, high reversibility during discharge (stripping of Li) is necessary for long‐lifetime SSBs with a limited Li reservoir. Further, the plastic flow of Li changes depending on the Li thickness, leading to possible differences in discharge performance under stack pressure. This work investigates the pressure‐dependent discharge performance of anode‐free manufactured SSBs with in situ plated Li and compares the performance to that of conventional thick Li foil cells. Distinct stripping behavior is observed at low pressures (0–1 MPa), where Li diffusivity and initial interfacial contact may control accessible capacity, compared to high pressures (3–10 MPa) where mechanical deformation of Li likely governs stripping behavior. Analysis of impedance spectra collected during stripping shows that additional stack pressure delays the formation of deep, as opposed to lateral, voids in the Li anode. These results provide insights to guide the transition from thick Li foil anodes to anode‐free manufactured SSBs.
Journals
2025 EN
Yang Wenchao · Pursglove De Castro Catherine S. · Karuthedath Safakath
+10 more
Abstract Long exciton diffusion length ( L D ) is key to maximizing excitation harvesting in organic solar cells, but contradicting values are reported for non‐fullerene acceptors (NFA). To understand the factors enabling large L D , experimental observation of exciton decay by transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) is combined with microscopic Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations on 4 ITIC derivatives. Exciton decays are fitted considering singlet exciton‐singlet exciton annihilation (SSA) and the intrinsic exciton's lifetime τ , resulting in L D from 20 to 70 nm. The critical importance of an independent estimate of τ is discussed and its measurements from pristine NFA films is found to be more relevant than from NFA molecules embedded in an inert polystyrene matrix. From experimental parameters, the microscopic Förster Resonant Energy Transfer hopping rate and the annihilation rate in a cubic lattice are determined, considering a Gaussian energetic disorder. KMC simulation of those rates are able to reproduce the experimental transients and L D , provided a lattice constant a close to the molecular π‐π stacking distance is used. It is found that this tight packing and a low disorder are critical to reach large L D , and empirically relate linearly such that 40 meV more disorder can be compensated by 1 Angstrom tighter packing (shorter a ).
Journals
2025 EN
Jeong Soyeong · Rana Aniket · Xu Weidong
+7 more
Abstract This study addresses the role of energetic offsets resulting from non‐fullerene acceptor crystallization/aggregation in stabilizing charge separation in organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. Devices are fabricated using PM6 as electron donor and either IDIC or Y6 as acceptor, with blend ratios from 5:1 to 1:1. Reducing acceptor content significantly lowers device performance, most notably for initially higher performing PM6:Y6 BHJ's (from 14.31% to 0.95%) compared to PM6:IDIC (from 11.28% to 3.40%). Optical, optoelectronic, and morphological characterizations reveal that lower acceptor content PM6:Y6 devices exhibit suppressed acceptor aggregation/crystallinity, correlated with increased recombination losses and lower efficiency. Charge separation in optimal (1:1) PM6:Y6 devices is found to be stabilized by a LUMO level energetic offset between intermixed and pure, more crystalline, Y6 domains, driven by strong electronic interactions between Y6 molecules. In contrast, PM6:IDIC devices show minimal changes in energetics and recombination kinetics, aligning with their smaller performance decline, and consistent with IDIC's weaker electronic interactions. As such strong electronic interactions between Y6 molecules are concluded to provide an energetic stabilization of electrons in more aggregated/crystalline Y6 domains, suppressing charge recombination, and analogous to that observed for the highest performing fullerene acceptor PCBM.
Journals
2025 UN
Zhang Chi · Wang Yuxiao · Urena Johan
+5 more
Environmental energy harvesting provides a sustainable solution to energy shortages using clean, renewable sources. Despite advances in technologies like triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and electromagnetic generators (EMGs), many devices are limited to a single‐energy source and specific conditions, limiting their practical applications. This study presents an innovative amphibious hybrid TENG–EMG (HTEG) that overcomes these limitations by coupling TENG and EMG units with a gear set, amplifying power output through rotational motion. The amphibious HTEG efficiently captures and converts energy from various environmental sources, successfully illuminating over 30 light‐emitting diodes and powering a thermohygrometer. Notably, it operates with minimal speed requirements, harnessing energy from a light breeze of 1.56 m s − 1 or a small water flow of 3.8 L min − 1 , a significant advantage given that most existing devices require much higher speeds for efficient energy harvesting. Moreover, the amphibious HTEG approves practical for daily outdoor use, such as charging mobile phones and powering small electronics through natural energy sources. Furthermore, it can be manually operated without the need for external elements. This compact, portable, and effective energy harvesting design showcases the ability to capture natural energy across diverse environments, demonstrating it as a versatile solution with significant potential for real‐world applications.
Journals
2025 EN
Yu Catherine · Bavolek Rebecca · Varilla Luigi
+2 more
Abstract Background The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires residency programs to train their residents to be teachers. Teaching resident (TR) rotations in emergency medicine (EM) residency programs provide both an opportunity to train residents in teaching skills and a dedicated teaching service for junior learners in the clinical setting. The impact that this experience has on the residents themselves is unknown. We sought to explore the impact of our residency program's TR rotation on our recent graduates. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using semistructured interviews. We recruited our residency program's recent graduates and interviewed participants over a videoconferencing platform. We used a constructivist paradigm to guide our thematic analysis. Results We interviewed 11 graduates and identified major themes regarding how the TR rotation impacted their comfort and preparedness to teach and supervise learners postgraduation: discovery of their teaching identity, communication skills, development of teaching and supervisory skills, and professional development. Conclusions EM residents found TR rotations helpful in developing skills that prepared them to educate learners and supervise patient care postgraduation. The findings of this study may inform the use and development of TR rotations in EM and other specialties.