Jusung Engineering (South Korea)

Background/Objectives: Obesity is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by the excessive expansion of adipose tissue and impaired energy homeostasis. Natural products, such as plant extracts, are gaining attention as potential anti-obesity agents. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the anti-obesity effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) extract alone and as a mixture with long pepper (Piper longum L.) extract in a mouse model of high-fat diet-induced obesity. Methods: Male ICR mice were fed a high-fat diet to induce obesity and were orally administered ginger extract (60 mg/kg/day) or a 1:1 mixture of ginger and long pepper extracts (30 mg/kg/day each) for 8 weeks. Body weight, fat mass, glucose tolerance, and serum lipid levels were measured. Results: Ginger extract alone significantly reduced body weight gain and visceral and subcutaneous fat accumulation and improved glucose homeostasis and serum lipid profiles compared to the high-fat diet group. These effects were more pronounced than those observed with the mixture group. Ginger extract upregulated lipolytic markers via activation of the protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway and increased expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), indicating browning of white adipose tissue. Conclusions: Ginger extract alone exhibited significant anti-obesity effects compared to the mixture with long pepper extract. These findings suggest that ginger extract may serve as a promising natural agent for the prevention and management of obesity-related metabolic dysfunction.

Efficient monolithic perovskite/Si tandem solar cells require a robust recombination junction (RJ) with excellent electrical and optical properties. This study introduces an interface engineering method using an organic sacrificial layer to enable effective monolithic integration. An ultrathin layer of poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is inserted between the transparent conductive oxide recombination layer and the hole transport layer (HTL) of a methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3)-based perovskite top cell. This layer restores junction functionality and enables charge transfer between sub-cells via efficient carrier recombination at the RJ, which electrically connects the two cells. Acting as a sacrificial layer, PEDOT:PSS temporarily prevents resistive SiOx formation and improves interface quality. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirm suppression of SiOx growth during HTL annealing. Moreover, the Cu-doped NiOx HTL fabrication method proves critical, where process optimization improves electrical contact. Combined with PEDOT:PSS interface engineering, these enhancements promote efficient recombination by tuning interfacial energy levels and increasing band bending at the RJ. As a result, tandem devices comprising an aluminum back-surface field p-type homojunction Si bottom cell and a p-i-n perovskite top cell achieve 21.95% power conversion efficiency and an 81.3% fill factor —among the highest reported for monolithic perovskite/Si tandem solar cells.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of waste are generated from decommissioned nuclear- power facilities, and it has become a critical global issue to secure technology for reducing and recycling this waste. Concrete waste (CW) is estimated to comprise 60–80% of the total waste, and concrete-waste powder (CWP) includes enough inorganic substances used as effective materials for waste treatment. Accordingly, it can be used to produce recycled cement (RC). This study aimed to evaluate the performance of a solidification agent manufactured using recycled cement (SRC) for the safe packing of radioactive wastes, such as coarse aggregates of CW, waste soil, and metal wastes originating from decommissioned nuclear facilities. The experimental results indicated that the most relevant incineration temperature of CWP for RC was 700 °C. The optimum water-to-binder ratio was determined to be 0.4, and the most relevant substitution ratio of ground granulated blast furnace slag for CWP was determined to be 15%. In addition, calcium silicate hydrate is the most effective hydration product for improving the compressive strength of SRC. The maximum packing capacities of the SRC for coarse aggregates, waste soil, and metal waste, which were simulated as radioactive wastes, were determined to be 30, 5, and 7 wt%, respectively. The results of leaching tests using SRC containing radioactive wastes contaminated with Co, Cs, and Sr indicated that their leachability indices met the acceptance level for disposal. Consequently, the RC composed of CWP can be used as a solidifying agent to safely dispose of radioactive wastes, such as coarse aggregates, waste soil, and metal waste.

Pendahuluan: Anemia pada ibu hamil dapat meningkatkan risiko kelahiran prematur, kematian ibu dan anak, serta penyakit infeksi. Madu, kurma, dan bayam merah memiliki kandungan zat besi yang dapat membantu meningkatkan kandungan kadar Hemoglobin pada ibu hamil, dimana madu, kurma, dan bayam merah juga memiliki kandungan vitamin C yang berguna untuk mempercepat penyerapan zat besi. Tujuan: Untuk mencegah terjadinya Anemia pada ibu hamil di wilayah kerja Puskesmas RI Tanjung Bintang, khususnya di Desa Jati Indah. Metode Penelitian: penyuluhan dan observasi kadar hemoglobin ibu hamil sebelum dan sesudah mengkonsumsi madu, kurma, dan bayam merah serta tablet tambah darah. Hasil: inovasi MAMA BATA dalam pencegahan anemia pada ibu hamil. Kesimpulan: terjadi peningkatan kandungan hemoglobin pada ibu hamil serta peningkatan pengetahuan ibu hamil tentang pencegahan anemiaKata Kunci: Anemia, Madu, Kurma, Bayam Merah, Tablet Fe

The objective of this study is to compare and assess the effectiveness of real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and the selective agar plate method for the detection of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. In RTE foods, the detection performance of the three methods (RT-PCR [SureTectTM kit and PowerChekTM kit], LAMP [3M MDS], selective agar) were similar at 0-10, 10-50, 50-100, and 100- CFU/mL of Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes. We found that with RT-PCR, the Ct value of salad was significantly higher (p<0.05) than other RTE foods, indicating that fiber plays a critical role as an obstacle to the rapid detection of Salmonella spp. However, the Ct value displayed a mixed pattern according to the inoculation level of L. monocytogenes. The use of rapid detection kits and machines mostly depends on the user’s choice, with accuracy, ease of use, and economy being the primary considerations. As an RT-PCR kit, SureTectTM and PowerChekTM showed high accuracy in detecting Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes in RTE foods, showing that they can replace the existing RT-PCR kits available. Additionally, LAMP also showed excellent detection performance, suggesting that it has the potential to be used as a food safety management tool.

Due to a lack of test data on large-diameter headed bars, design provisions limit the bar diameter of headed bars to 36 mm or less. In exterior beam–column joints with two-layer headed bars as beam bars, if the layer-to-layer spacing of the headed bars is narrow, the side-face blowout area of an individual headed bar is overlapped. Existing design provisions do not consider the effects of layer-to-layer spacing. In this study, 34 simulated exterior beam–column joints were tested to examine the effects of bar diameters over the limitation of existing design provisions using large-diameter (41- and 51-mm) headed bars. The side-face blowout strengths of the two-layer headed bars were experimentally investigated through simulated exterior beam–column joints with layer-to-layer spacing of 2db (two times the bar diameter). The test results showed that the side-face blowout strengths had the same characteristics for bar diameters from 22 to 51 mm. For the two-layer headed bars, crack propagation and failure mode were the same as those for single-layer headed bars, but due to the overlap of the blowout area, the strength of the individual headed bar was reduced. A new model was proposed to predict the side-face blowout strengths of large-diameter high-strength headed bars in both a single layer and in two layers by incorporating a spacing factor for an individual headed bar into a model from the literature. A total of 173 test results from this study and previous studies were compared with predictions from the proposed model, and the average and coefficient of variation (COV) of test-to-prediction ratios were 1.08 and 17.4 %, respectively.

Recent improvements in highly efficient crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells have relied on surface passivation. Hydrogen plays a crucial role in the surface passivation of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells because Si–H bonds passivate dangling bonds in amorphous silicon and on the c-Si surface. In this work, we demonstrate that the Si–H bonding configuration is modified by layer stacking sequence for SHJs. The quality of surface passivation strongly correlates with low-temperature hydrogen effusion from the SHJ structure. Our results show that the deposition of doped layers on intrinsic amorphous silicon supplies additional hydrogen to the amorphous/crystalline heterostructure. Moreover, the deposition of a p-layer modifies the microstructure of the intrinsic layer underneath, whereas depositing an n-layer does not induce structural changes. We suggest that the low-temperature hydrogen effusion characteristics can be used as a sensitive indicator for examining the passivation quality of SHJ solar cells.

Abstract The design-rule shrinkage in semiconductor devices is a challenge at every step of the integration process. In the gap-fill process for isolation, the seam and void formation cannot be suppressed by using a deposition process, which even has excellent step coverage. To achieve seamless gap fill in the high-aspect-ratio structure, which has a non-ideal etch profile such as a negative slope, the deposition process should be able to realize the “bottom-up growth” behavior. In this work, the bottom-up growth of a SiO2 plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PE-ALD) process in a trench structure was investigated by using a growth inhibition process employing plasma treatment. N2 and NH3 plasma pre-treatments were employed to suppress the growth of the SiO2 PE-ALD process without any contamination, and the inhibition mechanism was investigated by performing surface chemistry analyses using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, the gap-fill characteristics of the SiO2 PE-ALD process were examined, depending on the process conditions of NH3 plasma pre-treatment, by performing cross-sectional field emission scanning electron microscopy measurements. Finally, a seamless gap-fill process in a high-aspect-ratio trench pattern was achieved by the bottom-up growth behavior of SiO2 PE-ALD using NH3 plasma pre-treatment.

Abstract A new patternable semi‐transparent metal cathode, Zn:Mg (4:1 and 10:1) using the thermal evaporation process for organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) display applications is reported. A new Zn:Mg alloy film shows good surface morphology and almost no temperature effect on the shadow mask. The Zn:Mg layer with ratio of 4:1 and 10:1 shows sheet resistance of 33.2 and 39.2 Ω ϒ−1, respectively, at the thickness of 12 nm. The fabricated green top‐emitting OLED (TEOLED) with Zn:Mg cathode shows current efficiency of 79.3 cd A−1 and a color coordinates of (0.166, 0.755). These results show the possibility of high‐quality cathode patterning for various OLED display and sensor applications.