thinning

In this study we analyze the impact of process and growth parameters on the structural properties of germanium (Ge) quantum dot arrays. The arrays were deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on pre-patterned silicon (Si) substrates. Periodic arrays of pits with diameters between 120 nm to 20 nm and pitches ranging from 200 nm down to 40 nm were etched into the substrate prior to growth. The structural perfection of the 2-dimensional quantum dot (QD) arrays was evaluated based on SEM images. The impact of two processing steps on the directed self-assembly of Ge QD arrays is investigated...

In this study, the properties of indium oxynitride (InON) semiconductor films grown by reactive radio frequency sputtering were examined both experimentally and theoretically. Also, thin film transistors (TFTs) incorporating InON as the active layer were evaluated for the first time. It is found that InON films exhibit high stability upon prolonged exposure to air, and the corresponding TFTs are more stable when subjected to negative bias illumination stress (NBIS), compared to devices based on indium oxide (In2O3) or zinc oxynitride (ZnON) semiconductors...

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the distribution of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl-(1-hydroxycyclopentyl)(phenyl)acetate in the organism of the warm-blooded animals after its intra-gastric administration. The methods applied in the study included thin layer chromatography in silicagel, aci-nitroprosalt staining reaction, UV-spectrophotometry,, and GC-mass spectrometry. The identification and the quantitation of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl-(1-hydroxycyclopentyl)(phenyl)acetate in the organs and blood of the warm-blooded animals were carried out within 20, 150, and 360 min after a single intra-gastric administration of 1300 ml of this poisonous substance...

We design and fabricate a totally encapsulated VO2/Au/VO2 composite structure which is aimed to improve the tunability of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak. In this work, the structure will ensure all the Au NPs' resonant electric field area was filled with VO2. The modulation range of the totally encapsulated structure is larger than that of the semi-coated structure. To further improve the modulation range, we also explore the VO2 thickness dependence of the structure's LSPR modulation. With the increase of the top-layer VO2 thin film thickness, the modulation range become larger...

To understand the instability of Sn-based perovskite, CH3 NH3 SnI3 , photoelectron spectroscopy with the synchrotron radiation and theoretical calculations such as density functional theory and ab-initio molecular dynamics were performed. From these experimental and theoretical works, we found the crucial changes of surface-chemical states, the broken chemical bondings in Sn-I, and the depletion of a CH3 -NH3 molecule in the surface region. The material instability origin of Sn-based perovskite can be explained by the chemical state instability in the surface...

2D carbon and nitrogen based semiconductors (CN) have attracted widespread attention for their possible use as low-cost and environmentally friendly materials for various applications. However, their limited solution-dispersibility and the difficulty in preparing exfoliated sheets with tunable photophysical properties restrain their exploitation in imaging-related applications. Here, the synthesis of carbon and nitrogen organic scaffolds with highly tunable optical properties, excellent dispersion in water and DMSO, and good bioimaging properties is reported...

All inorganic double metal perovskite materials have recently drawn much attention due to their three dimensionality (3D) and non-toxic nature to replace lead based perovskite material. Among all those double perovskite materials, theoretical works have demonstrated that Cs2AgBiBr6 shows high stability and possesses suitable bandgap for solar cell application. However, the film-forming ability of Cs2AgBiBr6 is found to be the utmost challenge hindering its development in thin film solar cell device. In this work, high quality Cs2AgBiBr6 film with ultra-smooth morphology, micro-sized grains, and high crystallinity is realized via anti-solvent dropping technology and post-annealing process under high temperature...

PURPOSE: To investigate safety of accelerated corneal crosslinking during the first postoperative month. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 76 eyes of 60 patients with verified progressive keratectasia were enrolled in this study and followed for 1 month after accelerated CXL (18 mW/cm2 for 5 min, radiant exposure 5.4 J/cm2 ) (A-CXL(5*18)). Preoperatively, objective refraction, slit lamp inspection, and corneal tomography were performed. Early postoperative slit lamp examinations were performed on days 1 and 4...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the indications for the two most frequently applied surgical procedures for benign lesions in the proximal femur. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 142 patients with benign lesions in the proximal femur from January 2010 to January 2015. Internal fixation (IF) was adopted in 110 patients, while endoprosthetic replacement (EPR) was applied in 32 patients. Clinical data, including operation time, blood loss, hospitalization time, and hospitalization expenses, were compared between the groups...

The palm borer moth Paysandisia archon (Castniidae; giant butterfly-moths) has brown dorsal forewings and strikingly orange-coloured dorsal hindwings with white spots surrounded by black margins. Here, we have studied the structure and pigments of the wing scales in the various coloured wing areas, applying light and electron microscopy and (micro)spectrophotometry, and we analysed the spatial reflection properties with imaging scatterometry. The scales in the white spots are unpigmented, those in the black and brown wing areas contain various amounts of melanin, and the orange wing scales contain a blue-absorbing ommochrome pigment...

Shewanella baltica and Acinetobacter are among the predominant spoilage bacteria in refrigerated shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei ). S. baltica are incapable of producing acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) quorum sensing signals, but can respond to environmental AHLs. In this paper, Acinetobacter was found to produce three AHLs, i.e. N -butanoyl-l-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL), N -(3-oxohexanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone (O-C6-HSL) and N -(3-oxooctanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone (O-C8-HSL), according to thin-layer chromatography using the bioreporter Agrobacterium tumefaciens A136...

BACKGROUND: Poor water quality, one of the leading causes of diarrhea, is an issue for most developing countries. Although the health burden of poor-quality water has been studied extensively, there is a paucity of research regarding the impact of household water treatment (HWT) on children's nutritional status using data from large-scale surveys. In this research, we study the effect of HWT on the nutritional status of primary-aged children in India using a secondary data set consisting of 20,315 children between the ages of 6 and 14 (10,523 males and 9,792 females) in 12,839 households from the second wave of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS-II)...

The effect of methylamine vapor on luminescence of Eu(III) tris-benzoylacetonate (I) immobilized in thin-layer chromatography plates has been investigated. It has been revealed that interaction of I with analyte vapor results in increase of the intensity of Eu(III) luminescence. The mechanism of the effect of methylamine vapors on intensification of the Eu(III) luminescence has been suggested using the data of IR spectroscopy and quantum chemistry calculations. The mechanism of luminescence sensitization consists in bonding of an analyte molecule with a water molecule into the coordination sphere of Eu(III)...

Although strip films are a promising platform for delivery of poorly water-soluble drug particles via slurry casting, the effect of critical materials attributes (CMAs), e.g., super-disintegrants on critical quality attributes (CQAs), including film disintegration time (DT), remains under-explored. A two-level factorial design is considered to examine the impact of the super-disintegrant (SDI) type (sodium starch glycolate and croscarmellose sodium), their amount, and film thickness. SDIs were used with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC-E15LV) and glycerin solutions along with viscosity matching...

Manipulation of magnetism using laser light is considered as a key to the advancement of data storage technologies. Until now, most approaches seek to optically switch the direction of magnetization rather than to reversibly manipulate the ferromagnetism itself. Here, we use ∼100 fs laser pulses to reversibly switch ferromagnetic ordering on and off by exploiting a chemical order-disorder phase transition in Fe60 Al40 , from the B2 to the A2 structure and vice versa. A single laser pulse above a threshold fluence causes nonferromagnetic B2 Fe60 Al40 to disorder and form the ferromagnetic A2 structure...

The ability to harness the optical or electrical properties of nanoscale particles depends on their assembly in terms of size and spatial characteristics which remains challenging due to lack of size focusing. Electrons provide a clean and focusing agent to initiate the assembly of nanoclusters or nanoparticles. Here an intriguing route is demonstrated to lace gold nanoclusters and nanoparticles in string assembly through electron-initiated nucleation and aggregative growth of Au(I)-thiolate motifs on a thin film substrate...

To guarantee the normal operation of next generation portable electronics and wearable devices, together with avoiding electromagnetic wave pollution, it is urgent to find a material possessing flexibility, ultrahigh conductive, and superb electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) simultaneously. In this work, inspired by a building bricks toy with the interlock system, we design and fabricate a copper/large flake size graphene (Cu/LG) composite thin film (≈8.8 μm) in the light of high temperature annealing of a large flake size graphene oxide film followed by magnetron sputtering of copper...

A simple route to fabricate defect-free Ag-nanoparticle-carbon-nanotube composite-based high-resolution mesh flexible transparent conducting electrodes (FTCEs) is explored. In the selective photonic sintering-based patterning process, a highly soft rubber or thin plastic substrate is utilized to achieve close and uniform contact between the composite layer and photomask, with which uniform light irradiation can be obtained with diminished light diffraction. This well-controlled process results in developing a fine and uniform mesh pattern (≈12 μm)...

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively determine the density and distribution of activated microglia across cortical regions and hemispheres in the brains of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) participants with pathologic diagnoses of FTLD-TDP, and to examine the relationships between microglial densities, patterns of focal atrophy, TDP-43 inclusions, and clinical phenotype. METHODS: Activated microglia and TDP-43 inclusions were visualized in whole-hemisphere brain sections using immunohistochemical methods from 5 participants with PPA-TDP...

Anhydrous polymers are actively explored as alternative materials to overcome limitations of conventional hydrogel-based antibacterial coating. However, the requirement for strong organic solvent in polymerization reactions often necessitates extra protection steps for encapsulation of target biomolecules, lowering encapsulation efficiency and increasing process complexity. This study reports a novel coating strategy that allows direct solvation and encapsulation of antimicrobial peptides (HHC36) into anhydrous polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer-based dual layer coating...