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AMoRE (Advanced Mo-based Rare process Experiment) is searching for neutrinoless double beta decay of 100 Mo. A pilot experiment, AMoRE-Pilot, was operated with six 48dep1 Ca 100 MoO 4 crystals of total mass ~1.9 kg in a cryostat at the Yangyang underground laboratory (Y2L) with the minimum overburden of 700 m. Since AMoRE-Pilot started in August 2015, two major improvements in its configuration took place to reduce its background level. The first one was replacement of detector components by materials with lower radioactivity level. The second one was the installation polyethylene blocks together with borated rubber sheets to reduce external neutron backgrounds. Using the AMoRE-Pilot data in different configurations, background modelling of the AMoRE-Pilot was performed.

The DAMA/LIBRA experiment has reported an annual modulation signal in NaI(Tl) detectors, which has been interpreted as a possible indication of dark matter interactions. However, this claim remains controversial, as several experiments have tested the modulation signal using NaI(Tl) detectors. Among them, the COSINE-100 experiment, specifically designed to test DAMA/LIBRA’s claim, observed no significant signal, revealing a more than 3 σ discrepancy with DAMA/LIBRA’s results. Here we present COSINE-100U, an upgraded version of the experiment, which aims to expand the search for dark matter interactions by improving light collection efficiency and reducing background noise. The detector, consisting of eight NaI(Tl) crystals with a total mass of 99.1 kg, has been relocated to Yemilab, a new underground facility in Korea, and features direct PMT-coupling technology to enhance sensitivity. These upgrades significantly improve the experiment’s ability to probe low-mass dark matter candidates, contributing to the ongoing global effort to clarify the nature of dark matter. The COSINE-100U experiment upgrades the COSINE-100 detector to improve the search for dark matter interactions using ultra-low background NaI(Tl) crystals. By enhancing light collection efficiency and reducing background noise through a new encapsulation design, the experiment achieves higher sensitivity, advancing the investigation of the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation signal.

The radiation emitted from radon is a critical background in rare event search experiments conducted at the Yemi Underground Laboratory (Yemilab) in Jeongseon, Korea. A Radon Reduction System(RRS) has been developed and installed in Yemilab to reduce radon concentration in the air. The RRS primarily provides a purified air of 50 m3/h to the cleanroom used to assemble crystal detectors in the AMoRE, a neutrinoless double beta decay search experiment. RRS can reduce the radon level by a factor of 300, so a high-sensitivity radon detector was required. A highly sensitive radon detector was constructed using a 70 L chamber with a large PIN photodiode to measure radon concentration in the purified air. The radon detector shows an excellent resolution of 72 keV (FWHM) for 6.003 MeV alphas from 218Po decay and a sensitivity down to 23.8 +- 2.1 mBq/m3 with a boil-off N2 gas sample. The radon concentration level from the RRS measured by the radon detector was below 0.29 Bq/m3 with a reduction factor of about 300.

A new experiment, which is called as NEOS (NEutrino Oscillation at Short baseline), is proposed on the site of Hanbit reactors at Yonggwang, South Korea, to investigate a reactor antineutrino anomaly. A homogeneous NEOS detector having a 1000-L target volume has been constructed and deployed at the tendon gallery ~25 m away from the reactor core. A linear alkylbenzene (LAB) is used as a main base solvent of the NEOS detector. Furthermore, a di-isopropylnaphthalene (DIN) is added to improve the light output and pulse shape discrimination (PSD) ability. The ratio of LAB to DIN is 90:10. PPO (3 g/L) and bis-MSB (30 mg/L) are dissolved to formulate the mixture of LAB- and DIN-based liquid scintillator (LS). Then, ~0.5% gadolinium (Gd) is loaded into the LS by using the solvent-solvent extraction technique. In this paper, we report the characteristics of Gd-loaded LS (GdLS) for the NEOS detector and the handling during mass production.

Amine-containing adsorbents have been extensively investigated for post-combustion carbon dioxide capture due to their ability to chemisorb low-concentration carbon dioxide from a wet flue gas. However, earlier studies have focused primarily on the carbon dioxide uptake of adsorbents, and have not demonstrated effective adsorbent regeneration and long-term stability under such conditions. Here, we report the versatile and scalable synthesis of a functionalized-polyethyleneimine (PEI)/silica adsorbent which simultaneously exhibits a large working capacity (2.2 mmol g −1 ) and long-term stability in a practical temperature swing adsorption process (regeneration under 100% carbon dioxide at 120 °C), enabling the separation of concentrated carbon dioxide. We demonstrate that the functionalization of PEI with 1,2-epoxybutane reduces the heat of adsorption and facilitates carbon dioxide desorption (>99%) during regeneration compared with unmodified PEI (76%). Moreover, the functionalization significantly improves long-term adsorbent stability over repeated temperature swing adsorption cycles due to the suppression of urea formation and oxidative amine degradation. Carbon dioxide capture technologies have been implemented as a strategy to alleviate the environmental costs of CO 2 emissions. Here, the authors synthesize a functionalized-polyethyleneimine/silica adsorbent for post-combustion CO 2 capture that exhibits a large CO 2 capacity and long-term stability.

Recent years, there has been an increase in the number of high-rise buildings, and subsequently, the interest in external wall cleaning methods has similarly increased. While a number of exterior wall cleaning robots are being developed, a method to detect contaminants on the exterior walls is still required. The exteriors of most high-rise buildings today take the form of a window curtain-wall made of translucent glass. Detecting dust on translucent glass is a significant challenge. Here, we have attempted to overcome this challenge using image processing, inspired by the fact that people typically use just the ‘naked eye’ to recognize dust on windows. In this paper, we propose a method that detects dust through simple image processing techniques and estimates its density. This method only uses processing techniques that are not significantly restricted by global brightness and background, making it easily applicable in outdoor conditions. Dust separation was performed using a median filter, and dust density was estimated through a mean shift analysis technique. This dust detection method can perform dust separation and density estimation using only an image of the dust on a translucent window with blurry background.

This paper introduces a small robot that overcomes obstacles using flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) wheels. The proposed Flexible TPU Applied tri-spiral Spoke Wheel (FleTbot) uses the TPU on the spiral triangular spoke wheel to change its function according to the driving direction and weight of the robot. When driving in the forward direction, the wheel is pressed due to the weight of the robot, thereby achieving the stability of a normal circular wheel. When driving in the backward direction, FleTbot can overcome obstacles through the end of the wheel spoke. By deforming the wheels, FleTbot can have a longer wheel length on the same driving height as the ground, which enables it to overcome larger obstacles than those that can be overcome using existing, solid wheels. In conclusion, FleTbot has 82.2% stability compared to solid tri-wheels and 500% ability to overcome obstacles that are the same height above the ground compared to other solid wheels.

An endomicroscope opens new frontiers of non-invasive biopsy for in vivo imaging applications. Here we report two-photon laser scanning endomicroscope for in vivo cellular and tissue imaging using a Lissajous fiber scanner. The fiber scanner consists of a piezoelectric (PZT) tube, a single double-clad fiber (DCF) with high fluorescence collection, and a micro-tethered-silicon-oscillator (MTSO) for the separation of biaxial resonant scanning frequencies. The endomicroscopic imaging exhibits 5 frames/s with 99% in scanning density by using the selection rule of scanning frequencies. The endomicroscopic scanner was compactly packaged within a stainless tube of 2.6 mm in diameter with a high NA gradient-index (GRIN) lens, which can be easily inserted into the working channel of a conventional laparoscope. The lateral and axial resolutions of the endomicroscope are 0.70 µm and 7.6 μm, respectively. Two-photon fluorescence images of a stained kidney section and miscellaneous ex vivo and in vivo organs from wild type and green fluorescent protein transgenic (GFP-TG) mice were successfully obtained by using the endomicroscope. The endomicroscope also obtained label free images including autofluorescence and second-harmonic generation of an ear tissue of Thy1-GCaMP6 (GP5.17) mouse. The Lissajous scanning two-photon endomicroscope can provide a compact handheld platform for in vivo tissue imaging or optical biopsy applications.

This pioneering study aims to revolutionize self-symptom management and telemedicine-based remote monitoring through the development of a real-time wheeze counting algorithm. Leveraging a novel approach that includes the detailed labeling of one breathing cycle into three types: break, normal, and wheeze, this study not only identifies abnormal sounds within each breath but also captures comprehensive data on their location, duration, and relationships within entire respiratory cycles, including atypical patterns. This innovative strategy is based on a combination of a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) and a long short-term memory (LSTM) network model, enabling real-time analysis of respiratory sounds. Notably, it stands out for its capacity to handle continuous data, distinguishing it from conventional lung sound classification algorithms. The study utilizes a substantial dataset consisting of 535 respiration cycles from diverse sources, including the Child Sim Lung Sound Simulator, the EMTprep Open-Source Database, Clinical Patient Records, and the ICBHI 2017 Challenge Database. Achieving a classification accuracy of 90%, the exceptional result metrics encompass the identification of each breath cycle and simultaneous detection of the abnormal sound, enabling the real-time wheeze counting of all respirations. This innovative wheeze counter holds the promise of revolutionizing research on predicting lung diseases based on long-term breathing patterns and offers applicability in clinical and non-clinical settings for on-the-go detection and remote intervention of exacerbated respiratory symptoms.

Lissajous microscanners are very attractive in compact laser scanning applications such as endomicroscopy or pro-projection display owing to high mechanical stability and low operating voltages. The scanning frequency serves as a critical factor for determining the scanning imaging quality. Here we report the selection rule of scanning frequencies that can realize high definition and high frame-rate (HDHF) full-repeated Lissajous scanning imaging. The fill factor (FF) monotonically increases with the total lobe number of a Lissajous curve, i.e., the sum of scanning frequencies divided by the great common divisor (GCD) of bi-axial scanning frequencies. The frames per second (FPS), called the pattern repeated rate or the frame rate, linearly increases with GCD. HDHF Lissajous scanning is achieved at the bi-axial scanning frequencies, where the GCD has the maximum value among various sets of the scanning frequencies satisfying the total lobe number for a target FF. Based on this selection rule, the experimental results clearly demonstrate that conventional Lissajous scanners substantially increase both FF and FPS by slightly modulating the scanning frequencies at near the resonance within the resonance bandwidth of a Lissajous scanner. This selection rule provides a new guideline for HDHF Lissajous scanning in compact laser scanning systems.