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The effect of Pt alloy in Ni(Pt∼5 and 10 at. %) on the agglomeration and Ge out diffusion in nickel germanosilicide formed on Si0.75Ge0.25(100) has been studied. A remarkable improvement in the agglomeration behavior with increasing Pt atomic percentage is observed by sheet resistance measurements while still maintaining Ni(Pt) monogermanosilicide phase between 400 and 800 °C. Ge out diffusion from the monogermanosilicide grains has been suppressed up to a temperature of 700 °C with the addition of Pt, evident by x-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy. In addition, that improvement of surface morphology and suppression of Ge out diffusion with increasing Pt atomic percent is also confirmed by Rutherford backscattering and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The improved morphology and agglomeration are explained by a grain-boundary model which includes kinetic effects. The suppression of Ge out diffusion from the germanosilicide grains is attributed to reduced atomic diffusion and the presence of stronger Pt–Si and Pt–Ge bonds due to the addition of Pt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A germanosilicide technology employing Ni0.95Pd0.05 alloy to improve the germanosilicide film texture strucutre on relaxed Si1-xGex substrate has been developed. Highly oriented (Ni0.95Pd0.05)y(Si1-xGex)1-y films where x=0.2, 0.25, 0.3, and y≈0.5 are obtained at 400 °C annealing with (200) as the preferred orientation, as was revealed by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction results. The formation of the highly oriented (Ni0.95Pd0.05)y(Si1-xGex)1-y film can be explained by interface and surface energies minimization due to the addition of Pd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Cervical cancer, the second most common cause of cancer death in women worldwide, is a malignant neoplasm arising from cells originating in the cervix uteri. Currently, surgery combined with chemo- and radiotherapy is the major therapeutic approach for women with early-stage cervical cancer. However, recurrent cervical cancers from acquired chemo-resistance remain a major cause of therapeutic failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we assessed the effects of the combination of TRAIL with fucoxanthin, which has been reported to suppress the cervical cancer cells growth on the cervical cancer treatments. HeLa cells, SiHa cells, and CaSki cells were used as in vitro model. Mice xenograft was used as in vivo model. TRAIL-resistant cells were generated from CaSki cell line. The activity of PI3K/Akt pathway was detected by Western blot. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay. RESULTS: We observed TRAIL-resistant cervical cancer cells were more sensitive to fucoxanthin treatments. By establishing a TRAIL-resistant cell line from CaSki, we found the TRAIL-resistant cells showed upregulated PI3K/ Akt pathway. Moreover, CaSki TRAIL-resistant cells were more sensitive to the combination of TRAIL with either Akt inhibitor or fucoxanthin than treatment with TRAIL or fucoxanthin alone. Our in vitro and in vivo xenograft experiments demonstrate that the combination of TRAIL with fucoxanthin showed synergistically inhibitory effects on cervical cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that the combined use of fucoxanthin and TRAIL might be a useful strategy against TRAIL-resistant cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]