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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to obtain the optimal N2/Ar ratio parameters for preparing Ta (C, N) coating. Three coatings with different N2/Ar ratios were prepared on the TA15 substrate, and their effects on the wear properties of the coatings were discussed. Design/methodology/approach Ta(C, N) coatings with three different N2/Ar ratios were prepared on TA15 substrates using the double cathode glow metallurgical plasma alloying technique (DGMPA) using a step-by-step diffusion method. Findings With the increase of N2/Ar flow ratio, the hardness and elastic modulus of the coating first increase and then decrease. Compared with the S1 sample (N2/Ar gas ratio 25: 75) and the S3 sample (N2/Ar gas ratio 75: 25), the S2 sample (N2/Ar gas ratio 50: 50) has better mechanical properties, with hardness increased by 48.45% and 6.8%, respectively, and elastic strain ratio increased by 22.8% and 28.5%, respectively. Moreover, the wear degree of the S2 sample is less than other samples. The wear rate of the S2 sample was 32.4% lower than the S3 sample at 300°C and 14.3% lower than the S3 sample at 500°C. Therefore, the S2 sample has the best mechanical properties and the best high temperature wear resistance. Originality/value Ta(C, N) coatings were prepared by DGMPA technology, and the wear mechanism of Ta(C, N) coatings with different N2/Ar ratios was investigated to reduce the wear rate.

Purpose 45 steel is a common material for the manufacture of various components such as shafts or gears. However, its poor surface properties often limit its applications. The purpose of this paper is to find a way to enhance the surface performance of 45 steel, which is expected to improve the wear resistance of 45 steel. Design/methodology/approach Double glow plasma surface metallurgy technique was used to prepare hafnium carbide (HfC) coatings on the surface of the 45 steel with two preparation process; one is to diffuse two elements together, while the other is to diffuse step by step. The scanning electronic microscopy and the X-ray diffraction were used to analyze the morphology and phase of the HfC coatings. And then the wear tests were carried out for this coating. Findings Coating diffused step by step shows better performance; it has a 15-µm alloyed layer which is uniform and dense and its hardness can reach up to 1326.5 Vickers-hardness (HV). While the coating fabricated by diffusing elements together owns a 10-µm alloyed layer and its hardness is 1204.1 HV. According to the wear test results, both coatings have a protective effect on the substrate and the coating prepared by step-by-step diffusion process has less wear volume, indicating that it possesses better friction reduction. Originality/value A new method which diffuses elements together was successfully used to prepare compound HfC coating, which can reduce the cost of coating preparation and improve the efficiency of coating preparation.

Hordenine is effective in treating hyperpigmentation, fighting diabetes and resisting fibrosis and acute inflammation. However, the role of Hordenine on hair growth has not been elucidated. Here, we found that Hordenine treatments significantly enhance proliferation of primary mouse dermal-papilla cells (DPCs) and increase the activity of DPCs in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, Hordenine markedly promoted the elongation of the hair shaft in the model of in vitro-cultured mouse vibrissa follicle and accelerated hair regrowth in a mouse model of depilation-induced hair regeneration. Real-time PCR, Western Blot and immunofluorescent assays showed that nuclear β-catenin and its downstream gene expression such as Lef1, Axin2, Cyclin D1 and ALP were greatly upregulated in DPCs and mouse hair follicles after Hordenine treatments. Moreover, the increased DPCs’ proliferation and hair shaft elongation of cultured mouse vibrissa follicles induced by Hordenine treatments were rescued by a Wnt/β-catenin signaling inhibitor, FH535. These data indicate that Hordenine can effectively enhance DPCs’ activity and accelerate hair regrowth through activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Therefore, these findings suggest Hordenine/its derivatives may be potentially used for preventing and treating alopecia in the future.

Because the high-precision calibration results of the petroleum underground layer are of great significance for oil production efficiency, research on the calibration method of the petroleum underground layer based on high precision gravity and magnetic exploration is researched. The gravity magnetic model is used to retrieve the bedrock depth, and the results of the basement structure and sedimentary rock distribution of the gravity and magnetic geology in the petroleum underground horizon of the Tongbai basin are obtained. On this basis, the geological data, logging data, seismic data, and VSP data are comprehensively used, and the layered calibration method is used to calibrate the petroleum underground layer of the Tongbai basin. Considering the seismic datum and the core elevation in the area, the rock formation is divided by various logging curves. The average time difference and density of the divided rock layers are interpolated at equal depth intervals to obtain velocity sequences and density sequences at equal time intervals and finally realize time-depth conversion. When the drilling geological horizon is unified, the synthetic record of the seismic reflection layer is compared with the geological horizon to realize the horizon calibration of the seismic reflection layer. When the local stratification is not uniform, the seismic reflection layer is calibrated by tracking the seismic reflection layer, high-precision velocity analysis, and various synthetic records to verify the reliability of the geological horizon. The results show that the proposed method can accurately survey the geological conditions of the Tongbai basin. It detected 14 basement faults, and the NW-trending and NE-trending faults controlled the basin, while the north-south faults controlled the later evolution of the basin. The method can be used for the horizon calibration of inclined wells, which is suitable not only for anisotropic media but also for formations with a less lateral variation of local formation lithology. Moreover, its usage is flexible, and it can be corrected by multiple speed data.

Background Brain-derived estrogen is implicated in pain-related aversion; however, which estrogen receptors mediate this effect remains unclear. This study hypothesized that the different estrogen receptors in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex play distinct roles in pain-related aversion. Methods Formalin-induced conditioned place avoidance and place escape/avoidance paradigms were used to evaluate pain-related aversion in rodents. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were used to detect estrogen receptor expression. Patch-clamp recordings were used to examine N-methyl-d-aspartate–mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents in rostral anterior cingulate cortex slices. Results The administration of the estrogen receptor-β antagonist 4-(2-phenyl-5,7-bis [trifluoromethyl] pyrazolo [1,5-a] pyrimidin-3-yl) phenol (PHTPP) or the G protein–coupled estrogen receptor-1 antagonist (3aS*,4R*,9bR*)-4-(6-bromo-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-3a,4,5,9b-3H-cyclopenta [c] quinolone (G15) but not the estrogen receptor-α antagonist 1,3-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-methyl-5-[4-(2-piperidinylethoxy) phenol]-1H-pyrazole dihydrochloride (MPP) into the rostral anterior cingulate cortex blocked pain-related aversion in rats (avoidance score, mean ± SD: 1,3-bis [4-hydroxyphenyl]-4-methyl-5-(4-[2-piperidinylethoxy] phenol)-1H-pyrazole dihydrochloride (MPP): 47.0 ± 18.9%, 4-(2-phenyl-5,7-bis [trifluoromethyl] pyrazolo [1,5-a] pyrimidin-3-yl) phenol (PHTPP): −7.4 ± 20.6%, and [3aS*,4R*,9bR*]-4-[6-bromo-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl]-3a,4,5,9b-3H-cyclopenta [c] quinolone (G15): −4.6 ± 17.0% vs. vehicle: 46.5 ± 12.2%; n = 7 to 9; P < 0.0001). Consistently, estrogen receptor-β knockdown but not estrogen receptor-α knockdown by short-hairpin RNA also inhibited pain-related aversion in mice (avoidance score, mean ± SD: estrogen receptor-α–short-hairpin RNA: 26.0 ± 7.1% and estrogen receptor-β–short-hairpin RNA: 6.3 ± 13.4% vs. control short-hairpin RNA: 29.1 ± 9.1%; n = 7 to 10; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the direct administration of the estrogen receptor-β agonist 2,3-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionitrile (DPN) or the G protein–coupled estrogen receptor-1 agonist (±)-1-([3aR*,4S*,9bS*]-4-(6-bromo-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-3a,4,5,9b-tetrahydro-3H-cyclopenta [c]quinolin-8-yl)-ethanone (G1) into the rostral anterior cingulate cortex resulted in conditioned place avoidance (avoidance score, mean ± SD: 2,3-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionitrile (DPN): 35.3 ± 9.5% and (±)-1-([3aR*,4S*,9bS*]-4-(6-bromo-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-3a,4,5,9b-tetrahydro-3H-cyclopenta [c]quinolin-8-yl)-ethanone (G1): 43.5 ± 22.8% vs. vehicle: 0.3 ± 14.9%; n = 8; P < 0.0001) but did not affect mechanical or thermal sensitivity. The activation of the estrogen receptor-β/protein kinase A or G protein–coupled estrogen receptor-1/protein kinase B pathway elicited the long-term potentiation of N-methyl-d-aspartate–mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents. Conclusions These findings indicate that estrogen receptor-β and G protein–coupled estrogen receptor-1 but not estrogen receptor-α in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex contribute to pain-related aversion by modulating N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor–mediated excitatory synaptic transmission. Editor’s Perspective What We Already Know about This Topic What This Article Tells Us That Is New

One of the remaining obstacles to approaching the theoretical efficiency limit of crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells is the exceedingly high interface recombination loss for minority carriers at the Ohmic contacts. In ultra-thin-film c-Si solar cells, this contact recombination loss is far more severe than for traditional thick cells due to the smaller volume and higher minority carrier concentration of the former. This paper presents a novel design of an electron passing (Ohmic) contact to n-type Si that is hole-blocking with significantly reduced hole recombination. This contact is formed by depositing a thin titanium dioxide (TiO2) layer to form a silicon metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) contact. A 2 {\mu}m thick Si cell with this TiO2 MIS contact achieved an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 645 mV, which is 10 mV higher than that of an ultra-thin cell with a metal contact. This MIS contact demonstrates a new path for ultra-thin-film c-Si solar cells to achieve high efficiencies as high as traditional thick cells, and enables the fabrication of high-efficiency c-Si solar cells at a lower cost.

Various human production activities have caused tremendous damage to the soil ecological environment of cultivated land. Regional ecological risk assessments and the safe use of cultivated land have received widespread attention. The ecological risk assessment of heavy metals based on soil geochemical zoning has not been reported in the past. Using 14,389 topsoil samples, considering comprehensive geological background information, Yishui County in northern China was divided into three soil geochemical areas and 14 soil geochemical sub-regions by means of principal component factor superposition. The results of environmental quality and risk assessments of eight heavy metals based on soil geochemical zoning show that the single pollution index was greater than 1.0 and the Nemerow pollution index was greater than 0.7 for Ni in a sub-region, indicating that Ni pollution had reached the early warning limit, which demonstrates that Ni has a certain enrichment trend. Meanwhile, the geoaccumulation index of Ni and Cr was greater than zero in some sub-regions, indicating a slight pollution level. In addition, the potential ecological risk factor of the measured heavy metals was greater than 40 in 9 sub-regions, indicating a moderate ecological hazard, and the risk index was greater than 150 in a sub-region, revealing moderate ecological intensity, in which Hg and Cd were leading contributors to potential ecological hazards with a contribution rate between 58% and 76%. This method is suitable for the evaluation of soil environmental quality and safety for medium and large scales, and can provide a scientific basis for further zoning and grading prevention and control of soil pollution in cultivated land.

In this paper, a shallow–deep feature fusion (SDFF) method is developed for pedestrian detection. Firstly, we propose a shallow feature-based method under the ACF framework of pedestrian detection. More precisely, improved Haar-like templates with Local FDA learning are used to filter the channel maps of ACF such that these Haar-like features are able to improve the discriminative power and therefore enhance the detection performance. The proposed shallow feature is also referred to as weighted subset-haar-like feature. It is efficient in pedestrian detection with a high recall rate and precise localization. Secondly, the proposed shallow feature-based detection method operates as a region proposal. A classifier equipped with ResNet is then used to refine the region proposals to judge whether each region contains a pedestrian or not. The extensive experiments evaluated on INRIA, Caltech, and TUD-Brussel datasets show that SDFF is an effective and efficient method for pedestrian detection.

Pullulan-Jiuzao glutelin (JG) conjugates (PJCs) were prepared via Maillard reaction in this study. PJCs were prepared by optimizing pullulan to JG ratios (0.5:1, 1:1, 2:1, and 4:1, expressed as PJC-0.5, PJC-1, PJC-2, and PJC-4, respectively) and reaction times (0-180 min) at pH 7 and 11. The secondary structure changes of PJC compared to JG, potential conjugation sites between pullulan and JG, PJC emulsifying properties, in vitro antioxidant activities, and interaction with curcumin (CUR) were investigated. Among the four PJCs, PJC-2 obtained after 180 min reaction at pH 11 and 90 °C exhibited the best ability in nano-emulsion stabilization with the lowest particle size (180-200 nm and 290-450 nm against NaCl during storage), PDI (0.2-0.4 and 0.4-0.7 against NaCl during storage), highest zeta-potential (-20.10 mV), and lowest backscattering intensity. The spontaneous conjugation binding sites between pullulan and JG were Arg-39, Arg-54, and Asp-168. In contrast to native JG, PJC-2 exhibited better antioxidant capacities, low toxicity for CCD 841 CON and Caco-2 cells, and enhancement of antioxidant enzyme content (i.e., SOD, GPX, and CAT) after AAPH-induced oxidative stress. In addition, there exists an interaction between CUR and PJC-2 by residues Ala-74, Asp-376, Arg-368 and -374, Val-45, and Ala-44 of JG. The results above exhibit important implications for the fabrication of PJC-stabilize nano-emulsion and even for developing PJC product as a potential carrier of CUR in the functional food industry.

Imaging objects obscured by occluders is a significant challenge for many applications. A camera that could “see around corners” could help improve navigation and mapping capabilities of autonomous vehicles or make search and rescue missions more effective. Time-resolved single-photon imaging systems have recently been demonstrated to record optical information of a scene that can lead to an estimation of the shape and reflectance of objects hidden from the line of sight of a camera. However, existing non-line-of-sight (NLOS) reconstruction algorithms have been constrained in the types of light transport effects they model for the hidden scene parts. We introduce a factored NLOS light transport representation that accounts for partial occlusions and surface normals. Based on this model, we develop a factorization approach for inverse time-resolved light transport and demonstrate high-fidelity NLOS reconstructions for challenging scenes both in simulation and with an experimental NLOS imaging system.

The full exploration of Si-based photonic integrated circuits is limited by the lack of an efficient light source that is compatible with the complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor process. Highly strained germanium (Ge) is a promising solution, as its band structure can be fundamentally altered by introducing tensile strain. However, the main challenge lies in the incorporation of an electrical structure while maintaining high strain with uniform distribution in the active region. Here we present highly strained Ge LEDs driven by lateral p–i–n junctions and report the strain-induced enhancement of electroluminescence (EL) from Ge. Raman characterization shows that 1.76% strain along the ⟨100⟩ direction with relatively uniform strain distribution is achieved. The observed strain-induced red-shifts of EL spectra agree well with the theoretical prediction, revealing that the direct band gap of Ge can be tuned in the range of 0.785 eV (1580 nm) to 0.658 eV (1885 nm). This work offers a pathway toward a stra...

Based on the close relationship between paleoclimate change and paleosedimentary environment, the relationship and influence between paleoclimate change and paleosedimentary environment identification in coastal areas were further studied. Taking the coastal areas of Zhejiang Province as the study area, the soil samples of the coastal areas of Zhejiang Province were collected by BZK1 borehole, and the samples were preliminarily treated and identified by optical microscope. The foraminifera, Ostracoda, and grain size were identified, and the paleosedimentary environment was analyzed by mapping. The results show that the coastal strata in Zhejiang can be divided into four stages according to the changes of sporopollen assemblage, species distribution, abundance, and diversity of foraminifera and Ostracoda. Since the late Pleistocene, the general trend of climate change in the study area is warm-wet, warm-wet and warm-wet, and gradually turns to cold-dry, which is consistent with the change of sea level fluctuation. According to the general trend of paleoclimate change in the study area, the paleosedimentary environment of the study area is further analyzed by the characteristics of grain size parameters and grain size composition. According to the depth, the sediments can be divided into seven stages. Since late Pleistocene, the sediments are mainly silt. The changing process of hydrodynamic conditions during deposition is medium energy-medium low energy-medium energy-medium low energy-medium energy. The changes of sedimentary facies are as follows: shore shallow lake, flood plain, shallow lake beach bar, lake swamp, flood plain, and shallow sea swamp.

With the advent of autonomous vehicles imminent, a solid-state approach to beam steering is necessary for more affordable lidar tracking systems. Capable of dynamic control of light with subwavelength components, electrically tunable metamaterials show potential in this field as well as other applications. Here, we demonstrate a nanopillar-based metamaterial composed of Ge and Al-doped ZnO (AZO), whose optical properties can be modulated by the field effect and whose fabrication process is compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. From reflectance spectra, wavelength shifts up to 240 nm of the optical resonances are measured in our fabricated device with gate biases from −4 to 4 V. A high differential reflectance of more than 40% in this voltage range is experimentally shown. Then, through an effective medium approximation, we can describe the nanopillar array as a macroscopic metamaterial and calculate the phase shift of this device. With optimization of the nanopillar pa...

We experimentally demonstrate a broadband electro-absorption modulator exploiting indium tin oxide (ITO) as the active switching material. Si strip waveguides are fabricated and covered with 8 nm o...

G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels are important inhibitory regulators of neuronal excitability in central nervous system, and the impairment of GIRK channel function has been reported to be associated with the susceptibility of epilepsy. However, the dynamics of GIRK channels in the pathogenesis of epilepsy are still unclear. In this study, our results showed that cyclothiazide, a potent convulsant, dose dependently increased the epileptiform bursting activities and suppressed the baclofen induced GIRK currents. In addition, TPQ, a selective GIRK antagonist, significantly decreased the total inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) current, and increased the neuronal epileptiform activities. In contrast, ML297, a potent and selective GIRK channel agonist, reversed the cyclothiazide induced decrease of GIRK currents and the increase of neuronal excitability in cultured hippocampal neurons. Further investigation revealed that GIRK1, but not GIRK2, played a key role in suppressing epileptic activities. Finally, in pilocarpine mice seizure model, we demonstrated that ML297 significantly suppressed the seizure behavior. In summary, our current results indicate that GIRK channels, especially GIRK1-containing channels, are involved in epileptic activities and ML297 has a potential antiepileptic effect.

In this paper, the integration of metal oxides as carrier-selective contacts for ultrathin crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells is demonstrated which results in an ∼13% relative improvement in efficiency. The improvement in efficiency originates from the suppression of the contact recombination current due to the band offset asymmetry of these oxides with Si. First, an ultrathin c-Si solar cell having a total thickness of 2 μm is shown to have >10% efficiency without any light-trapping scheme. This is achieved by the integration of nickel oxide (NiOx) as a hole-selective contact interlayer material, which has a low valence band offset and high conduction band offset with Si. Second, we show a champion cell efficiency of 10.8% with the additional integration of titanium oxide (TiOx), a well-known material for an electron-selective contact interlayer. Key parameters including Voc and Jsc also show different degrees of enhancement if single (NiOx only) or double (both NiOx and TiOx) carrier-selective conta...

Optical interconnections (interconnects) have been proposed as solutions to the ever-increasing bandwidth requirements and energy consumption in communication systems. Among possible photonic modulation strategies, the Ge quantum well (QW) based quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) stands out, as its strong electro-absorption effect allows for potentially lower power consumption and smaller device sizes compared to other modulation mechanisms. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a thin buffer layer Ge QW QCSE waveguide modulator that evanescently couples to and from an Si waveguide through an adiabatic three-dimensional (3D) taper. Simulations confirm that this 3-D taper yields higher coupling efficiency and improved maintenance of the fundamental mode after coupling compared to a 2-D taper. We also demonstrate that this geometry could potentially work in an integrated modulator-detector system. The combination of thin SiGe epitaxy (i.e., the buffer and device layers) with Si waveguides paves the way to easier integration of Si photonic integrated circuits.

Agrilus fleischeri Obenberger (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is an emerging pest of poplar trees in northeast China, and is responsible for poplar mortality throughout its range. Its biology and natural enemies were studied at two field locations from 2013 to 2015 as well as via laboratory experiments. Life history of A. fleischeri was univoltine on exotic Populus nigra var. italica and overwintered as mature larvae in pupal chambers; however, was semivoltine on native Populus davidiana and overwintered as 2nd or 3rd instar larvae in Liaoning Province, China. Adults emerged from late May to mid-August with a peak in early June. Eggs were first discovered in early June and continued to late August. Larvae fed from mid-June to late September of univoltine or from mid-June to the next early September of semivoltine. The sex ratio of adult beetles was approximately 1:1 (M:F). Mean longevities of female and male adults were 34.87 ± 18.70 and 34.33 ± 18.10 days, respectively. Mean duration of egg stage was 12.83 ± 1.10 days and pupal duration 26.40 ± 1.32 days. Mortality in the field was mainly caused by parasitoids; however, pathogens, predators, and host tree resistance were also noted. The egg parasitoids, Oobius spp. attacked 48.0% and 6.48% of A. fleischeri eggs in P. nigra var. italica and P. davidiana , respectively. Polystenus rugosus and Paramblynotus sp. parasitized 0.71% and 52.17% of larvae in P. nigra var. italica respectively. Euderus fleischeri , Polystenus rugosus , and Spathius sp. were found in P. davidiana with parasitism rates of 7.63%, 4.83%, and 0.25% respectively.

Thin film crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells have been a potential candidate to reduce the capital expenditure associated with traditional silicon photovoltaic market. This paper presents the sputtered NiO$_{\mathbf {x}}$ to be a potential candidate as hole-selective layer for c-Si solar cell contacts. NiO$_{\mathbf {x}}$ has a very small valence band offset (VBO $) ( \sim 0.1$ eV) and a large conduction band offset (CBO) with Si $( \sim 2$ eV), which makes it a promising candidate for hole-selective interlayer materials to reduce the contact recombination. In this paper, the effect of annealing condition on the NiO$_{\mathbf {x}}$/Si interface quality is first evaluated by Hall resistivity measurement. Also, the transport of both majority and minority carriers due to NiO$_{\mathbf {x}}$/Si band alignment is investigated by transmission line measurement. Results in this paper show that the sputtered NiO$_{\mathbf {x}}$ can be an effective interlayer material for thin film c-Si solar cell contacts.

Although as a single-photon detector, the single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) may be applied to multi-photon conditions. At a minimum, SPADs with a high dark count rate (DCR) demand a higher value of photon number per pulse to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. In this case, and without correction, severe pile-up distortion may induce a system error in the measurement of photon detection efficiency (PDE) and timing jitter. In this paper, we study the pile-up distortion in SPAD characterization by numerical simulation and experimentation, and introduce a pile-up correction method for the precise characterization of PDE and timing jitter in immature SPADs with an unintentionally high DCR. The results of this study are useful in the development of future SPADs.

Background & Objective: Tenidap, a selective human inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) 2.3 channel opener, has been reported to have antiepileptic effect in the pilocarpine temporal lobe epilepsy rat model in our previous study. However, the effect of tenidap on neurons and its relationship with the epileptiform bursting charges in neuron is still required to be explored. Methods: In this study, cyclothiazide (CTZ) induced cultured hippocampal neuron epileptic model was used to study the antiepileptic effect of tenidap and the relationship between Kir2.3 channel and the neuronal epileptiform burst. Results: Patch clamp recording showed that both acute (2h) and chronic (48h) CTZ pre-treatment all significantly induced robust epileptiform burst activities in cultured hippocampal neurons, and tenidap acutely application inhibited this highly synchronized abnormal activities. The effect of tenidap is likely due to increased activity of Kir2.3 channels, since tenidap significantly enhanced kir current recorded from those neurons. In addition, neurons overexpressing Kir2.3 channels, by transfection with Kir2.3 plasmid, showed a significant large increase of the Kir current, prevented CTZ treatment to induce epileptiform burst discharge. Conclusion: Our current study demonstrated that over activation of Kir2.3 channel in hippocampal neurons could positively interference with epileptiform burst activities, and tenidap, as a selective Kir2.3 channel opener, could be a potential candidate for seizure therapy.

We present a nano-structured light-trapping Si SPAD with improved detection efficiency, without sacrificing jitter distribution or dark count rate. The design can be adopted for CMOS-compatible SPAD image sensors and silicon photomultipliers.

Background & Objective: The large conductance, calcium- and voltage-activated potassium channels (BK) are widely distributed channel proteins which exist in virtually every cell type of mammals and function to influence membrane excitability and Ca2+ signaling. BK channels can be activated by the increase of the intracellular Ca2+ concentration, a consequence of neuronal excitation, and then terminate the action potential with the outward K+ flux. Moreover, after-hyperpolarization induced by BK channels closes Cav channels and thus precludes excessive Ca2+ influx. Considering this negative feedback effect, BK channel seemly acts to decrease membrane excitability in order to prevent hyperexcitation which is a typical characteristic of epilepsy. Therefore, one may reasonably suppose that membrane excitability would increase when the BK channel activity decreases. However, the membrane excitability displays elevation when the function of BK channel is under either upregulated or down-regulated status. Factors altering the activity of BK channels, such as gene mutations, polymorphism, channel openers or blockers that lead to loss- or gain-of-function, have all been linked to epilepsy onset. Conclusion: The aim of this review is to summarize existing knowledge and recent findings on the molecular properties, signaling complex and channel dysfunction of the BK channels with a particular attention to the possible relevance to the pathophysiology of epilepsy.

We simulated different taper designs and demonstrated that 3D tapers improved the coupling efficiencies and maintained the fundamental mode as they provided a more gradual optical transition between a Si waveguide and Ge/SiGe device layers.