Human leukocyte antigen-C and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor gene polymorphisms among patients with syphilis in a Chinese Han population.

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum spirochete bacterium. The killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR), interacting with human leukocyte antigens (HLA), regulate the activations of natural killer (NK) cells and certain T-cell subsets in response to microbe infection. The objective of this study was to explore whether KIR and HLA-C gene polymorphisms were associated with syphilis in a Chinese Han population. Polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) method was used to genotype KIR and HLA-C genes in 231 syphilis patients and 247 healthy controls. Framework genes KIR2DL4, KIR3DL2, KIR3DL3 and KIR3DP1 were present in all individuals. The frequencies of KIR2DS3 and KIR3DS1 were higher in syphilis patients than in healthy controls (p = 0.030 and p = 0.038, respectively), while the frequency of KIR2DS5 was higher in healthy controls than in syphilis patients (p = 0.015; OR = 0.575). The homozygote for HLA-C1 allele (HLA-C1C1) was more common in controls compared with syphilis patients (p = 0.030; OR = 0.667). The frequency of individuals with HLA-C1C1 and KIR2DL3 genotype was higher in control group relative to syphilis patient group (p = 0.018; OR = 0.647). These data indicated that KIR2DS3 and KIR3DS1 were more prevalent in syphilis patients than in controls, and that KIR2DS5, HLA-C1C1 and HLA-C1C1-KIR2DL3 were more prevalent in controls than in syphilis patients, respectively. These will require further investigation using functional studies.

Color tuning of direct white light of lanthanum aluminate with mixed-valence europium.

The generation of direct white-light emission of the coexisting valence-varied europium-lanthanum aluminate through substitution of cations into the host and its resultant adjustment of the energy transfer have been presented. With respect to La(0.99-x)Sr(x)AlO(3-delta):Eu(0.01) and La(0.994)Al(1-x)O(3-delta):Eu(0.006), and Mn(x), Li(0.012), the green-light emission positioned at 515 nm plays a key role to color mix for white light and can be efficiently tuned by adjusting the transfer of energy and relevant transition emissions between the luminous centers of Eu(2+) and Eu(3+)/Mn(2+), via varying amounts of dopants. Direct white-light emission with optimized values of 86 for the color rendering index and 5091 K for the correlated color temperature has been achieved for lanthanum aluminate by this mixed-valence means.

[Fluorescence studies of Eu ions adsorption on pseudo-boehmite colloidal particle surface].

Stable pseudo-boehmite sol was obtained by adding HNO3 as peptizing agent and adjusting pH to be 2.0. TEM result shows that the AlOOH colloidal particle size is about 60 nm. Field emission transmission electron microscope (FETEM) result shows that pseudo-boehmite colloidal particle is composed of 8 nm scaled AlOOH nanocrystals. The interaction of Eu3+ ions and colloidal AlOOH nanoparticle was investigated. The adsorption of Eu3+ ions on the surface of AlOOH nanocrystal was attributed to the chemical adsorption caused by electrostatic attraction. The photoluminescence characters of Eu3+ in AlOOH/Eu(NO3)3 composite sol system were investigated. The 529 nm emission intensity of Eu3+, I592, decreased with the increase in the molar ratio of AlOOH and Eu3+, RBoe/Re. The adsorption ratio (denoted R) and the adsorption density (denoted D) of Eu3+ ions on AlOOH colloidal particle surface was calculated from I592. The results show that the values of R and D increase with increasing RBoe/Re.

Tunable single-doped single-host full-color-emitting LaAlO(3):Eu phosphor via valence state-controlled means.

A full-color-emitting phosphor of valence-varied Eu doped perovskite-type LaAlO(3) with the aid of energy transfer is demonstrated and its luminescence properties can be tuned through controllable addition of doped ions.

Fabrication of Densely Packed AlN Nanowires by a Chemical Conversion of Al(2)O(3) Nanowires Based on Porous Anodic Alumina Film.

Porous alumina film on aluminum with gel-like pore wall was prepared by a two-step anodization of aluminum, and the corresponding gel-like porous film was etched in diluted NaOH solution to produce alumina nanowires in the form of densely packed alignment. The resultant alumina nanowires were reacted with NH(3) and evaporated aluminum at an elevated temperature to be converted into densely packed aluminum nitride (AlN) nanowires. The AlN nanowires have a diameter of 15-20 nm larger than that of the alumina nanowires due to the supplement of the additional evaporated aluminum. The results suggest that it might be possible to prepare other aluminum compound nanowires through similar process.