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After suffering from mechanical injury and fungal infection, grapes are perishable. Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of gray mould, is a critical pathogen for grapes. In this study, the inhibitory effect of Pseudomonas fluorescens on the formation of gray mould on grapes during the postharvest storage was investigated on "Kyoho" grape. The results suggest that a living cell suspension of P. fluorescens significantly inhibited spore germination of B. cinerea, and significantly reduced the incidence of grape gray mould. Moreover, compared with the control, the fruit inoculated with P. fluorescens had elevated activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), chitinase (CHI), and β-1,3-glucanase (GLU). Increase in enzyme activity correlated with enhanced host resistance. In addition, there was little difference in storage quality between the treated group and control group, indicating no adverse effects of the induced defence response on fruit quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Previous studies have shown that kidney volume enhances the estimation of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in kidney donors. This study aimed to describe the phenomenon of compensatory hypertrophy after donor nephrectomy as measured on computerized tomographic (CT) scans. Methods An institutional Domain Specific Review Board (DSRB)–approved study involved approaching kidney donors to have a follow up CT scan from 6 months to 1 year after surgery; 29 patients participated; 55% were female. Clinical chart review was performed, and the patient's remaining kidney volume was measured before and after surgery based on CT scans. eGFR was determined with the use of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation. Results Mean parenchymal volume of the remaining kidney for this population (mean age, 44.3 ± 8.5 y) was 204.7 ± 82.5 cc before surgery and 250.5 ± 113.3 cc after donor nephrectomy. Compensatory hypertrophy occurred in 79.3% of patients ( n = 23). Mean increase in remaining kidney volume was 22.4 ± 23.2% after donor nephrectomy in healthy individuals. Over a median follow-up of 52.9 ± 19.8 months, mean eGFR was 68.9 ± 12.4 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , with 24.1% of patients ( n = 7) in chronic kidney disease grade 3. Absolute and relative change in kidney volume was not associated with sex, race, surgical approach, or background of hypertension ( P = NS). There was a trend of decreased hypertrophy with increasing age ( P = .5; Spearman correlation, −0.12). Conclusions In healthy kidney donors, compensatory hypertrophy of the remaining kidney occurs in 79.3% of the patients, with an average increment of about 22.4%. Older patients may have a blunted compensatory hypertrophy response after surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of ADSL gene, GARS-AIRS-GART gene and their combination genotype on inosine monophosphate content (IMP) in chicken. 2. The chicken breeds used for this study were Recessive White chicken (RW, Jiang-13 strain of white Plymouth Rock) and preserved population of 4 Chinese native chicken breeds, including Silkies, Baier, Tibetan and Xiaoshan. 3. The primers for exon 2 in ADSL gene and 5'UTR region in GARS-AIRS-GART gene were designed and the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected by PCR-SSCP and DNA sequencing. 4. Two SNPs were detected, C/T substitution at position 3484 in exon 2 of ADSL gene, which was a silent mutation, and C/T point mutation at position -179 in 5'UTR region of GARS-AIRS-GART gene. In ADSL gene, individuals with TT genotype had significantly higher IMP content than CT and CC genotype individuals. No significant difference was observed between CT and CC genotypes. Similar results were obtained for GARS-AIRS-GART gene. The combination of genotypes ADSL and GARS-AIRS-GART genes also had a significant effect on IMP content. Individuals with TTTT genotype had the highest muscle IMP content, while individuals with CCCT genotype had the lowest. 4. We putatively drew the conclusion that the SNPs in these two genes, as well as the combination genotypes, could be used as potential molecular markers for meat quality in chicken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nanometer-scale interface morphology of top Si/buried oxide in SIMOX (separation by implantation of oxygen) and the influence of nano-size Si clusters to the electronic properties of the buried oxide (BOX) layer were studied by Conducting Atomic Force Microscopy (C-AFM). With C-AFM, the interface morphology and the current–voltage (I–V) curves of the BOX can be obtained simultaneously. The results found that the interface of Si/BOX in SIMOX had a very smooth surface morphology and there were some nanometer-size Si clusters distributed in the BOX, forming conducting channels. Furthermore, the high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and spreading resistance probe (SRP) were used to characterize the BOX. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

According to rapid development of CMP technology, the difference of polishing methods would be applied for copper damascene interconnect. These methods include conventional rotary, linear, oscillation platform. The advantages of these platform would highlighted in uniformity control, stability of removal rate, planarization efficiency, throughput promotion, lower cost of ownership, even dishing and erosion effect integrated with slurry. This paper presented our experience to compare the uniformity, removal rate and planarization efficiency of Cu-CMP between various polishing platforms. In convection, the rotary or oscillation platform would be usually applied in oxide and tungsten CMP, due to the robust air-back carrier and rigid platen to polish the wafer, which performs the good reliability on wafer-to-wafer thickness and endpoint detection. However, the linear polisher is made of the air-bearing moving belt and self-rotated carrier and would provide the wider uniformity and planarization control window than others. In addition, the simulation model would explain the difference from mechanic design and wafer moving paths between various polishing techniques. Hence, the trade-off advantage and application between various platforms would be compensated and integrated with slurry, conditioners and coming thickness profile from copper plating. It can achieve the optimization of Cu-CMP process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this Letter, we present a study on mapping the morphology of the top interface on Si/buried oxide (BOX) in nanometer scale and the influence of nano-sized Si islands to the electronic properties of the BOX layer in separation by implantation of oxygen with conducting atomic force microscopy (C-AFM). By using C-AFM, both the morphology of the top interface on Si/BOX and the electronic properties of the BOX can be obtained simultaneously. Based on the analysis of the current–voltage (I–V) curves, the electronic properties of the BOX are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In situ transmission electron microscopy compression was conducted on amorphous ZrCu nanopillars, 140nm in diameter and with a taper angle. The aspect ratio of nanopillars is over 6. Experimental observations and simulations both demonstrate that the deformation is localized near the top of the tapered metallic glass pillar, in sharp contrast to pillars of classic Mises plastic solids, which exhibit typical barreling behavior in compression. Localized shear bands appear to be absent, but they form inside the tapered samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Single crystals of 2H-MoSe2 were investigated by the anisotropic photoconductivity (PC) measurements as a function of temperature in the range of 12–300K. A significant shift towards lower energy has been observed in the PC spectra of the edge plane with respect to the van der Waals plane. The anisotropy in the indirect energy gap is being attributed to crystal anisotropy. The parameters that describe the temperature dependence of the anisotropic indirect energy gap are evaluated and discussed utilizing the Varshni and Manoogian–Woolley semi-empirical relationships. The Debye temperature of the sample has also been estimated by the fitted values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The absorption-edge anisotropy of 2H- MoSe2 was studied by photoconductivity (PC) measurements as a function of temperature in the range of 12–300 K. A significant shift towards lower energies has been observed in the PC spectra on the edge plane with respect to those corresponding to the van der Waals (VdW) plane. The parameters that describe the temperature dependence of the absorption edges are evaluated by the Bose–Einstein empirical expression. Effective phonon energy was estimated from the temperature dependence of the Urbach energy. The estimated effective phonon energy for the VdW and edge planes, respectively, can be correlated to the observed Raman active and modes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As integrated circuit manufacture moving to copper interconnection for the most advanced products, protection of copper (Cu) surfaces becomes a major challenge for the back-end-of-line manufacturing process. The damages on Cu, such as Cu corrosion and oxidation, are often observed on wafers when exposing bare Cu surface in the presence of moisture and/or acidic gases. Furthermore, the Cu oxide results in poor adhesion both at Cu/barrier layer and Cu/stop layer interfaces. In this work, a novel Cu dual damascene structure which completely encloses the Cu surface with a tantalum nitride layer is presented. This capping layer avoids the Cu corrosion and oxidation due to its ability to keep moisture and acid off and away from the Cu surface. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]