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We have investigated the performance of Schottky junction solar cells based on silicon and graphene with 1-6 layers. The open-circuit voltage of solar cells shows an increase when increasing the number of graphene layers. However, the power conversion efficiency and short-circuit current density increase monotonically when the number of graphene layers is less than 4 and reduces as the number of graphene layers further increases. Our results demonstrate that the number of layers related to the work function and transmission of graphene plays a critical role in determining the performance of solar cells [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) encompasses neurodevelopmental disabilities and physical birth defects associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Previously, we attempted to identify epigenetic biomarkers for FASD by investigating the genome-wide DNA methylation (DNAm) profiles of individuals with FASD compared to healthy controls. In this study, we generated additional gene expression profiles in a subset of our previous FASD cohort, encompassing the most severely affected individuals, to examine the functional integrative effects of altered DNAm status on gene expression. We identified six differentially methylated regions (annotated to the SEC61G, REEP3, ZNF577, HNRNPF, MSC, and SDHAF1 genes) associated with changes in gene expression (p-value < 0.05). To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to assess whole blood gene expression and DNAm-gene expression associations in FASD. Our results present novel insights into the molecular footprint of FASD in whole blood and opens opportunities for future research into multi-omics biomarkers for the diagnosis of FASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vagus nerve stimulation has been suggested to affect immune responses, partly through a neuronal circuit requiring sympathetic innervation of the splenic nerve bundle and norepinephrine (NE) release. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of action remain elusive. Here, we investigated the therapeutic value of this neuromodulation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by applying electrical splenic nerve bundle stimulation (SpNS) in mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis.Methods: Cuff electrodes were implanted around the splenic nerve bundle in mice, whereupon mice received SpNS or sham stimulation. Stimulation was applied 6 times daily for 12 days during DSS-induced colitis. Colonic and splenic tissues were collected for transcriptional analyses by qPCR and RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). In addition, murine and human splenocytes were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the absence or presence of NE. Single-cell RNA-seq data from publicly available data sets were analyzed for expression of β-adrenergic receptors (β-ARs).Results: Colitic mice undergoing SpNS displayed reduced colon weight/length ratios and showed improved Disease Activity Index scores with reduced Tumor Necrosis Factor α mRNA expression in the colon compared with sham stimulated mice. Analyses of splenocytes from SpNS mice using RNA-seq demonstrated specific immune metabolism transcriptome profile changes in myeloid cells. Splenocytes showed expression of β-ARs in myeloid and T cells. Cytokine production was reduced by NE in mouse and human LPS-stimulated splenocytes.Conclusions: Together, our results demonstrate that SpNS reduces clinical features of colonic inflammation in mice with DSS-induced colitis possibly by inhibiting splenic myeloid cell activation. Our data further support exploration of the clinical use of SpNS for patients with IBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the transport properties of field-effect transistors (FETs) based on various kinds of fullerene (C60, C70, and C84) peapods. The encapsulation of various fullerenes inside single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is characterized by TEM and Raman spectroscopy. Our results indicate that the transport characteristics of p-type SWNTs are extremely sensitive to the encapsulation of various kinds of fullerene. In the absence of light illumination, the threshold voltage of p-type SWNTs shifts towards positive values after C60 and C70 encapsulation, and ambipolar transport characteristics are observed for C84 peapods. The photoinduced electron transfer phenomenon is observed for fullerene peapods under light illumination. The optical response for C60 and C70 peapod FET devices is reflected in a shift of threshold voltage towards negative values, and a recoverable characteristic is observed when light is off. After a long period of light illumination, in contrast to p-type C60 and C70 peapods, an n-type transport characteristic is observed on C84 peapods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To shed light on the mechanism responsible for the weak ferromagnetism in undoped wide band gap oxides, we carry out a comparative study on ZnO thin films prepared using both sol-gel and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) methods. Compared with the MBE samples, the sol-gel derived samples show much stronger room temperature ferromagnetism with a magnetic signal persisting up to ~740 K, and this ferromagnetic order coexists with a high density of defects in the form of zinc vacancies. The donor-acceptor pairs associated with the zinc vacancies also cause a characteristic orange-red photoluminescence in the sol-gel films. Furthermore, the strong correlation between the ferromagnetism and the zinc vacancies is confirmed by our first-principles density functional theory calculations, and electronic band alteration as a result of defect engineering is proposed to play the critical role in stabilizing the long-range ferromagnetism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that the evolution of resistance of microorganisms to a range of different antibiotics presents a major problem in the control of infectious diseases. Accordingly, new bactericidal 'agents' are in great demand. Using a cold atmospheric pressure (CAP) plasma dispenser operated with ambient air, a more than five orders of magnitude inactivation or reduction of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA; resistant against a large number of the tested antibiotics) was obtained in less than 10 s. This makes CAP the most promising candidate for combating nosocomial (hospital-induced) infections. To test for the occurrence and development of bacterial resistance against such plasmas, experiments with Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive bacteria (Enterococcus mundtii) were performed. The aim was to determine quantitative limits for primary (naturally) or secondary (acquired) resistance against the plasma treatment. Our results show that E. coli and E. mundtii possess no primary resistance against the plasma treatment. By generating four generations of bacteria for every strain, where the survivors of the plasma treatment were used for the production of the next generation, a lower limit to secondary resistance was obtained. Our results indicate that CAP technology could contribute to the control of infections in hospitals, in outpatient care and in disaster situations, providing a new, fast and efficient broad-band disinfection technology that is not constrained by bacterial resistance mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Svalbard archipelago in arctic Norway receives considerable semivolatile organic contaminant (SOC) inputs from the atmosphere. To measure the history of net Soc accumulation there, we analyzed the upper 40 m of an ice core from Austfonna, the largest ice cap in Eurasia, for several legacy organochlorine (OC) compounds and current- use pesticides (CUPs) including organophosphorus (OP), triazine, dinitroaniline, and chioroacetamide compounds. Five OP compounds (chlorpyrifos, terbufos, diazinon, methyl parathion, and fenitrothion), two OCs (methoxychlor and dieldrin), and metolachlor–an herbicide–had historical profiles in the core. The highest OC concentration observed was aldrin (69.0 ng L-1) in the surface sample (1992-1998). The most concentrated OP was dimethoate (87.0 ng L-1) between 1986 and 1992. The surface sample also had highest concentrations of pendimethalin (herbicide, 18.6 ng L-1) and flutriafol, the lone observed fungicide (9.6 ng L-1). The apparent atmospheric persistence of CUPs likely results from little or no oxidation by OH during the dark polar winter and in spring. Long-range atmospheric pesticide transport to Svalbard from Eurasia is influenced by the positive state of the North Atlantic Oscillation Index since 1980 and also by occasional fast-moving summer air masses from northern Eurasian croplands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory and phenomenology of light sterile neutrinos at the eV mass scale is reviewed. The reactor, gallium and Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector anomalies are briefly described and interpreted as indications of the existence of short-baseline oscillations which require the existence of light sterile neutrinos. The global fits of short-baseline oscillation data in 3 + 1 and 3 + 2 schemes are discussed, together with the implications for β-decay and neutrinoless double-β decay. The cosmological effects of light sterile neutrinos are briefly reviewed and the implications of existing cosmological data are discussed. The review concludes with a summary of future perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma-based nanotechnology is a rapidly developing area of research ranging from physics of gaseous and liquid plasmas to material science, surface science and nanofabrication. In our case, nanoscopic plasma processing is performed to grow single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with controlled chirality distribution and to further develop SWNT-based materials with new functions corresponding to electronic and biomedical applications. Since SWNTs are furnished with hollow inner spaces, it is very interesting to inject various kinds of atoms and molecules into their nanospaces based on plasma nanotechnology. The encapsulation of alkali-metal atoms, halogen atoms, fullerene or azafullerene molecules inside the carbon nanotubes is realized using ionic plasmas of positive and negative ions such as alkali-fullerene, alkali-halogen, and pair or quasipair ion plasmas. Furthermore, an electrolyte solution plasma with DNA negative ions is prepared in order to encapsulate DNA molecules into the nanotubes. It is found that the electronic and optical properties of various encapsulated SWNTs are significantly changed compared with those of pristine ones. As a result, a number of interesting transport phenomena such as air-stable n- and p-type behaviour, p-n junction characteristic, and photoinduced electron transfer are observed. Finally, the creation of an emerging SWNTs-based nanobioelectronics system is challenged. Specifically, the bottom-up electric-field-assisted reactive ion etching is proposed to control the chirality of SWNTs, unexplored SWNT properties of magnetism and superconductivity are aimed at being pioneered, and innovative biomedical-nanoengineering with encapsulated SWNTs of higher-order structure are expected to be developed by applying advanced gas-liquid interfacial plasmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]