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Circulating Ly6Chi monocytes often undergo cellular death upon exhaustion of their antibacterial effector functions, which limits their capacity for subsequent macrophage differentiation. This shrouds the understanding on how the host replaces the tissue-resident macrophage niche effectively during bacterial invasion to avert infection morbidity. Here, we show that proliferating transitional premonocytes (TpMos), an immediate precursor of mature Ly6Chi monocytes (MatMos), were mobilized into the periphery in response to acute bacterial infection and sepsis. TpMos were less susceptible to apoptosis and served as the main source of macrophage replenishment when MatMos were vulnerable toward bacteria-induced cellular death. Furthermore, TpMo and its derived macrophages contributed to host defense by balancing the proinflammatory cytokine response of MatMos. Consequently, adoptive transfer of TpMos improved the survival outcome of lethal sepsis. Our findings hence highlight a protective role for TpMos during bacterial infections and their contribution toward monocyte-derived macrophage heterogeneity in distinct disease outcomes. Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) National Research Foundation (NRF) Published version This research was funded by Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) core funding and A*STAR, Singapore. F.G. is an EMBO YIP awardee and is supported by SIgN core funding and Singapore National Research Foundation Investigatorship (NRF2016NRF-NRF1001-02). L.G.N. is supported by SIgN core funding. S.Z.C. is supported by the Ministry of Health, Singapore’s National Medical Research Council under its Open Fund-Young Individual Research Grant (OFYIRG17may036), and A*STAR Career Development Award (192D8043). Y.C.T. is a graduate scholar supported by the Ministry of Education, Singapore. M.Y.C. is a graduate scholar supported by the SIgN-NTU-NUS scholarship, Singapore. SIgN Flow Cytometry facility is supported by National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore under Shared Infrastructure Support (SIS) (NRF2017_SISFP09).

In situ Yb-doped amorphous carbon thin films were grown on Si substrates at low temperatures (

The integration of photonic materials into CMOS processing involves the use of new materials. A simple one-step metal-organic radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system (RF-PEMOCVD) was deployed to grow erbium-doped amorphous carbon thin films (a-C:(Er)) on Si substrates at low temperatures (&lt, 200 °C). A partially fluorinated metal-organic compound, tris(6,6,7,7,8,8,8-heptafluoro-2,2-dimethyl-3,5- octanedionate) Erbium(+III) or abbreviated Er(fod)3, was incorporated in situ into a-C based host. Six-fold enhancement of Er room-temperature photoluminescence at 1.54 µm was demonstrated by deuteration of the a-C host. Furthermore, the effect of RF power and substrate temperature on the photoluminescence of a-C:D(Er) films was investigated and analyzed in terms of the film structure. Photoluminescence signal increases with increasing RF power, which is the result of an increase in [O]/[Er] ratio and the respective erbium-oxygen coordination number. Moreover, photoluminescence intensity decreases with increasing substrate temperature, which is attributed to an increased desorption rate or a lower sticking coefficient of the fluorinated fragments during film growth and hence [Er] decreases. In addition, it is observed that Er concentration quenching begins at ~2.2 at% and continues to increase until 5.5 at% in the studied a-C:D(Er) matrix. This technique provides the capability of doping Er in a vertically uniform profile.

Wave-optics analysis is performed to investigate the benefits of utilizing Bragg-reflectors and inverted ZnO opals as intermediate reflectors in micromorph cells. The Bragg-reflector and the inverted ZnO opal intermediate reflector increase the current generated in a 100 nm thick upper a-Si:H cell within a micromorph cell by as much as 20% and 13%, respectively. The current generated in the bottom muc-Si:H cell within the micromorph is also greater when the Bragg-reflector is used as the intermediate reflector. The Bragg-reflector outperforms the ZnO inverted opal because it has a larger stop-gap, is optically thin, and due to greater absorption losses that occur in the opaline intermediate reflectors.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2004 in Savannah, Georgia, USA, August 1–5, 2004.

Wave-optics analysis is performed to show that selectively transparent and conducting photonic crystals (STCPCs) can be utilized as rear contacts to enhance the performance of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). For instance, the current generated in an a-Si:H cell with an STCPC functioning as its rear contact is comparable to that of a similar cell with an optimized ZnO/Ag rear contact. However, the solar lumens (~3.5 klm/m2) and power (~430W/m2) transmitted through the cell with the STCPC rear contact can potentially provide indoor heating and lighting, respectively. Moreover, experimental results show that STCPC rear contacts could be used to control the color temperature of light transmitted through BIPV panels.

Experimental results on tritium effusion, along with the tritium depth profiles, from hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and crystalline silicon (c-Si) tritiated in tritium (T2) gas at various temperatures and pressures are presented. The results indicate that tritium incorporation is a function of the material microstructure of the as-grown films, rather than the tritium exposure condition. The highest tritium concentration obtained is for a-Si:H deposited at a substrate temperature of 200°C. The tritium content is about 20 at. % on average with a penetration depth of about 50 nm. In contrast, tritium occluded in the c-Si is about 4 at. % with penetration depth of about 10 nm. The tritium concentration observed in a-Si:H and c-Si is much higher than the reported results for the post-hydrogenation process. β irradiation appears to catalyze the tritiation process and enhance tritium dissolution in the silicon matrix. The combination of tritium decay and β-induced ionizations results in formation of re...