A new method for enhancing high- k /metal-gate stack performance and reliability for high- k last integration by Yew, K. S., Tang, L. J., Ang, Diing Shenp

“…The observed improvements may be attributed to the “repair” of oxygen-vacancy defects at the HfO2/Si interface and in the HfO2 bulk by the absorbed ozone, through thermal activation provided by the RTA step. The findings provide a promising means for realizing low-leakage and reliable sub-1-nm EOT HfO2/TiN stacks for high-k last integration.…”
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Application of a web-based cognitive-behavioural therapy programme for the treatment of selective mutism in Singapore : a case series study by Ooi, Yoon Phaik, Raja, Malini, Fung, Daniel SS, Koh, Jessie BK, Sung, Sharon Cohan

“…RESULTS: Post treatment, four out of the five children demonstrated improvements in the frequency of speech during therapy sessions at home, in school and at other social situations. CONCLUSION: Findings from the present study provide support for the use of a web-based CBT programme in improving speech and decreasing the severity of SM among affected children.…”
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Utilization of sewage-sludge-derived hydrochars toward efficient cocombustion with different-rank coals : effects of subcritical water conversion and blending scenarios by Wang, Jing-Yuan, He, Chao, Wang, Ke, Yang, Yanhui

“…As a result of distinct synergistic interactions, cocombustion with moderate-rank coal achieved the best combustion efficiency among the blends. These findings benefit efficient utilization of DSS as a hydrochar solid fuel in existing cofiring power plants.…”
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Stearic acid-coated superhydrophobic Fe2O3/Fe3O4 composite film on N80 steel for corrosion protection by Hu, Jun, He, Shijun, Wang, Zhen, Zhu, Jianbo, Wei, Liping, Chen, Zhong

“…Furthermore, the superhydrophobic Fe2O3/Fe3O4 composite film also showed excellent self-cleaning ability and was able to maintain its anti-wettability when immersed in water. Our work finds that the concentration of NaOH in the second hydrothermal method is a critical factor for the morphology of the Fe2O3 film and the annealing treatment plays a significant role in realizing the superhydrophobic stearic acid coated micro-nanostructure Fe2O3/Fe3O4 composite.…”
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Reinforcement learning for two-aircraft conflict resolution in the presence of uncertainty by Pham, Duc-Thinh, Tran, Ngoc Phu, Goh, Sim Kuan, Alam, Sameer, Duong, Vu

“…The accuracy of our model is 87% at different uncertainty levels. Our findings suggest that reinforcement learning is a promising approach to conflict resolution.…”
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Pharmacological PPARβ/δ activation upregulates VLDLR in hepatocytes by Zarei, Mohammad, Barroso, Emma, Palomer, Xavier, Escolà-Gil, Joan Carles, Cedó, Lidia, Wahli, Walter, Vázquez-Carrera, Manuel

“…Our results suggest that upregulation of hepatic VLDLR by PPARβ/δ agonists might contribute to the hypolipidemic effect of these drugs by increasing lipoprotein delivery to the liver. Overall, these findings provide new effects by which PPARβ/δ regulate VLDLR levels and may influence serum triglyceride levels and NAFLD development.…”
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Can training enhance public employees’ public service motivation? A pretest–posttest design by Chen, Chung-An, Hsieh, Chih-Wei, Chen, Don-Yun

“…Meanwhile, training satisfaction is associated with the growth of public service–related knowledge, while perceived training usefulness relates to a positive attitude toward public service work and PSM. Overall, these findings advance our understanding of the effectiveness of public service training, its determinants, and the implications for public employees’ public service orientations.…”
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Science Communication by Ho, Shirley S., Yu, Peihan

“…Health communication can draw on findings from science communication research to understand public health attitudes, and design effective health communication strategies. …”
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Initialization matters : regularizing manifold-informed initialization for neural recommendation systems by Zhang, Yinan, Li, Boyang, Liu, Yong, Wang, Hao, Miao, Chunyan

“…In contrast to the recent surprising finding that the simple K-nearest-neighbor (KNN) method often outperforms neural recommendation systems, we show that existing neural systems initialized with LEPORID often perform on par or better than KNN. …”
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Multiwall carbon nanotubes derived from plastic packaging waste as a high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors by Abbas, Aumber, Yi, Yap Mei, Saleem, Faisal, Jin, Zhao, Veksha, Andrei, Yan, Qingyu, Lisak, Grzegorz, Lim, Tuti Mariana

“…Moreover, the functionalized MWCNTs demonstrate an improved capacitive performance among all the samples and display a double capacitance value as compared to commercial MWCNTs which is attributed to their higher electrochemical activity and faster charge transfer. These findings suggest that MWCNTs synthesized from flexible plastic packaging waste can be a superior alternate to the commercial MWCNTs. …”
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Rationalisation of antifungal properties of α-helical pore-forming peptide, mastoparan B by Lim, Edward Jianyang, Goh, Eunice Tze Leng, Tram, Nhan Dai Thien, Periayah, Mercy Halleluyah, Ee, Rachel Pui Lai, Barkham, Timothy Mark Sebastian, Poh, Zhi Sheng, Verma, Navin Kumar, Lakshminarayanan, Rajamani

“…We show that MB susceptibility of phylogenetically distant non-candida albicans can vary and be described by different intrinsic physicochemical parameters of pore-forming α-helical peptides. These findings have potential therapeutic implications for the design and development of safe antifungal peptide-based drugs.…”
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Strategies to mitigate establishment under the Wolbachia incompatible insect technique by Soh, Stacy, Ho, Soon Hoe, Ong, Janet, Seah, Annabel, Dickens, Borame Sue, Tan, Ken Wei, Koo, Joel Ruihan, Cook, Alex R., Sim, Shuzhen, Tan, Cheong Huat, Ng, Lee Ching, Lim, Jue Tao

“…Our simulations indicate that these interventions do not override the intended wild type suppression of the IIT approach. These findings will inform policy makers of possible ways to mitigate the potential establishment of Wolbachia using the IIT population control strategy.…”
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Genome-centric metagenomics analysis revealed the metabolic function of abundant microbial communities in thermal hydrolysis-assisted thermophilic anaerobic digesters under propion... by Zhang, Liang, Gong, Xianzhe, Chen, Zhiyi, Zhou, Yan

“…The remarkable accumulation of propionate could be likely attributed to the weak syntrophic propionate-oxidizing activity or its absence. These findings advanced our knowledge about the mutualistic symbiosis of carbon metabolism in thermophilic THP-AD reactors.…”
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Examining a conceptual model of maternal and paternal warmth, emotion regulation and social competence among preadolescent children in Malaysia by Gan, Su-Wan, Tan, Jo-Pei, Ang, Chin-Siang, Cheah, Charissa S. L., Yaacob, Siti Nor, Abu Talib, Mansor

“…However, analysis of structural equation modeling revealed that emotion regulation significantly mediated only the relationship between maternal warmth and social competence. These findings underscored the importance of maternal warmth in promoting Malaysian preadolescent children's social competence as well as their emotion regulation as a mediating pathway. …”
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Visualization of robust two-dimensional bulk states with suppressed surface state on epitaxial PdCoO₂ thin films with bipolar surfaces by Kawamoto, Tomoki, Krishnadas, Anjana, Hsu, Chia-Hsiu, Pardo-Almanza, Markel, Fujisawa, Yuita, Chang, Guoqing, Harada, Takayuki, Okada, Yoshinori

“…Furthermore, the origin of the suppressed surface state can be interpreted by screening of the polarity on the surface, which is qualitatively supported by density functional theory calculation. These findings are invaluable for accelerating the search for exotic functionalities in epitaxial ultrathin films and heterostructures of metallic delafossites.…”
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Alginate encapsulation improves probiotics survival in carbonated sodas and beers by Tan, Li Ling, Ang, Kai Lin, Loo, Joachim Say Chye

“…Refrigerated storage better preserved probiotic viabilities and reduced the formation of the probiotic metabolic by-product, L-lactate, than at room temperature storage. Findings here could provide beverage manufacturers with a novel way to develop probiotic-sodas and probiotic-beers through encapsulation.…”
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Dicke superradiance requires interactions beyond nearest neighbors by Mok, Wai-Keong, Asenjo-Garcia, Ana, Sum, Tze Chien, Kwek, Leong Chuan

“…For exponentially decaying interactions, the critical coupling is found to be asymptotically independent of the number of emitters in all dimensions, thereby defining the threshold interaction range where the collective enhancement balances out the decoherence effects. Our findings provide key physical insights to the understanding of collective decay in many-body quantum systems, and the designing of superradiant emission in physical systems for applications such as energy harvesting and quantum sensing.…”
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Unveiling solvation dynamics of excited and ground states via ultrafast pump–dump–probe spectroscopy by Guo, Yuanyuan, Feng, Minjun, Kuang, Zhuoran, Abeywickrama, Chathura S., Pang, Yi, Xia, Andong

“…It is found that GSIs undergo slower reorganization than the PICT formation in the excited state of EPP due to the solvation effect with different dipole moments of ground states and excited states. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the full photocycle dynamics of both the ground and excited states, shedding light on the presence of hidden ground state behaviors.…”
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Increasing the Cruise Range and Reducing the Capital Cost of Electric Vehicles by Integrating Auxiliary Unit with the Traction Drive by Kumar, N. Satheesh

“…A practical design solution of the integrated unit is also included in the paper. Based on the findings, it is evident that the integration of an auxiliary unit with the traction drive results in enhancing the energy capturing capacity of the regenerative braking mechanism and decreases the power consumed from the battery. …”
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A Review on the Use of Robots in Education and Young Children by Toh, Lai Poh Emily, Causo, Albert, Tzuo, Pei-Wen, Chen, I-Ming, Yeo, Song Huat

“…The paper synthesizes the findings of research studies carried out in the last ten years and looks at the influence of robots on children and education. …”
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