Improved electrical properties of micro light-emitting diode displays by ion implantation technology.

Generally, the inductively coupled plasma-reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) mesa technology was used to remove p-GaN/MQWs and expose n-GaN for electrical contact in a fabricated micro light-emitting diode (µLED). In this process, the exposed sidewalls were significantly damaged which result in small-sized µLED presenting a strong size-dependent influence. Lower emission intensity was observed in the µLED chip, which can be attributed to the effect of sidewall defect during etch processing. To reduce the non-radiative recombination, the ion implantation using an As+ source to substitute the ICP-RIE mesa process was introduced in this study. The ion implantation technology was used to isolate each chip to achieve the mesa process in the µLED fabrication. Finally, the As+ implant energy was optimized at 40 keV, which exhibited excellent current-voltage characteristics, including low forward voltage (3.2 V @1 mA) and low leakage current (10-9 A@- 5 V) of InGaN blue µLEDs. The gradual multi-energy implantation process from 10 to 40 keV can further improve the electrical properties (3.1 V @1 mA) of µLEDs, and the leakage current was also maintained at 10-9 A@- 5 V.

Influence analysis and promotion countermeasures of green finance policy in China-Traceability based on grounded theory and validation using the csQCA method.

Green finance is closely related to sustainable energy development. Using the NVivo12plus software, a governance model of China's green finance policy was constructed using 22 green finance policy texts at the central level as research objects. Furthermore, based on the csQCA method, Tosmana software was used to develop and verify a theoretical model of 19 policy text cases. The research results demonstrate that policy belief, policy objectives, policy tools, policy feedback, and policy cycle are the main components of China's green finance policy governance. Furthermore, policy instruments are the fundamental factors affecting the governance effectiveness of China's green finance policy. Policy goals and policy feedback dominate the influence pattern of green finance policy in China. There are three modes driving the influence of green finance policies: regulation-oriented, collaborative-driven, and tool-guided. Finally, for the optimization and improvement of green finance policies, three forces must be improved: stimulus force, driving force, and promotion force.

Morphological, Material, and Optical Properties of ZnO/ZnS/CNTs Nanocomposites on SiO2 Substrate.

Ultraviolet A light (UV-A, 320-400 nm), which is unblockable by sunscreen, requires careful detection for disease avoidance. In this study, we propose a novel photosensing device capable of detecting UV-A. Cancer-causing UV light can be simultaneously monitored with tiny rapid response sensors for a high carrier transition speed. In our research, a multifunctional ZnO/ZnS nanomaterial hybrid-sprinkled carbon nanotube (CNT) was created for the purpose of fabricating a multipurpose, semiconductorbased application. For our research, ZnO nanorods (NRs) were grown by using a facile hydrothermal method on SiO2 substrate, then vulcanized to form ZnO/ZnS coreshell nanorods, which were sprinkled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Results indicate that SiO2/ZnO/ZnS/CNT structures exhibited a stronger conducting current with and without light than those samples without CNTs. Multiple material characterizations of the nanostructures, including of atomic force microscopy (AFM) surface morphology evaluation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicate that CNTs could be successfully spread on top of the ZnO/ZnS coreshell structures. Furthermore, chemical binding properties, material crystallinity, and optical properties were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and photoluminescence (PL). Owing to their compact size, simple fabrication, and low cost, ZnO/ZnS coreshell NRs/CNT/SiO2-based nanocomposites are promising for future industrial optoelectronic applications.

Expression of intestinal tight junction proteins in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate the expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins including Zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), occludin and claudin-1 in intestinal epithelial cells in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and study its potential association with the pathogenesis of NAFLD. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-eight NAFLD patients with elevated transaminase, 30 NAFLD patients with normal transaminase and 34 healthy volunteers were enrolled. Their biochemical characters were measured and the expression of ZO-1, occludin and claudin-1 proteins in intestinal epithelial cells was assessed by immunohistochemical analysis and its relationship with transaminase levels was also discussed. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed on the levels of BMI, TC, TG, FPG, ALT, and AST among the three groups. The levels in NAFLD patients with elevated transaminase were significantly higher than NAFLD patients with normal transaminase and the latter had higher levels than the volunteers. The expression of ZO-1 and occludin were significantly different among the three groups (chi2 = 14.210, p < 0.01; chi2 = 20.543, p < 0.01). The expression of ZO-1 and occludin decreased gradually from NAFLD with elevated transaminase to healthy volunteers (r = 0.386, p <0.01; r = 0.449, p < 0.01). In NAFLD patients, the levels of the expression of ZO-1 and occludin were negatively correlated with the transaminase level (r = -0.426, p < 0.01; r = -0.597, p < 0.01). The expression of claudin-1 was found among all the three groups but no statistical significance was observed among three groups (chi2 = 0.686, p = 0.953). CONCLUSIONS: The expression of TJ proteins in intestinal epithelial cells are closely related with the occurrence and development of NAFLD. The contribution of different TJ protein varies in maintaining barrier function.

The role of ABC efflux pump, Rv1456c-Rv1457c-Rv1458c, from Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates in China.

Recently the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) efflux pumps have been proved to be a major component of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the expression profiles of Rv1456c-Rv1457c-Rv1458c efflux system in clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis and its involvement in drug-resistance mechanisms. Significantly increased mRNA expression of Rv1456c, Rv1457c, and Rv1458c appeared among the clinical isolates (P < 0.05), which are resistant to at least one of the four first-line drugs including rifampin, isoniazid, streptomycin, and ethambutol. In addition, overexpression of this efflux system was more frequently found in multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains. Therefore, Rv1456c-Rv1457c-Rv1458c efflux pumps may play an important role in drug resistance of treatment of M. tuberculosis. Further investigation of this gene may lead to the development of countermeasures against M. tuberculosis drug resistance.

Advances in pathogenesis of pituitary adenomas.

Along with the rapid development of molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, and immunology, there is a new understanding on the pathogenesis of pituitary adenomas. The pathogenesis of pituitary adenomas is considered to be related with gene mutation, growth factors, cell receptors, transcription factors, and cellular signaling pathways.