Probing plasmons in three dimensions by combining complementary spectroscopies in a scanning transmission electron microscope

The nanoscale optical response of surface plasmons in three-dimensional metallic nanostructures plays an important role in many nanotechnology applications, where precise spatial and spectral characteristics of plasmonic elements control device performance. Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and cathodoluminescence (CL) within a scanning transmission electron microscope have proven to be valuable tools for studying plasmonics at the nanoscale. Each technique has been used separately, producing three-dimensional reconstructions through tomography, often aided by simulations for complete characterization. Here we demonstrate that the complementary nature of the two techniques, namely that EELS probes beam-induced electronic excitations while CL probes radiative decay, allows us to directly obtain a spatially- and spectrally-resolved picture of the plasmonic characteristics of nanostructures in three dimensions. The approach enables nanoparticle-by-nanoparticle plasmonic analysis in three dimensions to aid in the design of diverse nanoplasmonic applications.

OsMYB511 encodes a MYB domain transcription activator early regulated by abiotic stress in rice

The MYB-domain proteins exist universally across diverse organisms and regulate numerous processes during the plant life cycle. In the present research, a full-length MYB gene OsMYB511 was identified from rice seedlings through microarray data. Induction of OsMYB511 by cold stress was dramatic in japonica cultivar Jiucaiqing as compared to indica IR26. In addition to cold, OsMYB511 was also markedly induced by osmotic stress, high temperature, and exogenous ABA, suggesting that OsMYB511 is a multiple-stress responsive gene in rice. Tissue-specific expression analysis indicated that OsMYB511 was highly expressed in rice panicles at earlier development stage. Interestingly, OsMYB511 expression is fully subjected to circadian rhythm regulation. The subcellular localization and yeast hybrid assay suggested that OsMYB511 is nucleus-localized transcription activator. Deletion analysis suggested that trans-activation activity of OsMYB511 relied on its C-terminus. Co-expression analysis revealed additional 2 MYB genes co-expressed with OsMYB511, implying that these MYB genes might coordinately regulate stress responses in rice.

Regional disparities in self-reported health: evidence from chinese older adults

Despite the subjectivity inherent in individuals' interpretation of good health, self-reported health is widely used in health-related studies. With data from the pilot survey of the new China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, this paper applies the vignette method to control for differences in individual response scales and examines regional differences in self-reported health among the elderly in China. The results show that people in different provinces seem to use different criteria when assessing their health conditions. Regional health disparities are underestimated if differentials in response scales are not accounted for. A substantial share of the disparities cannot be explained by the observed differences in respondents' chronic health condition, demographic characteristics, and household wealth, a finding confirmed by a test based on inpatient-care information.

Clinical and laboratory profiles of rhupus syndrome in a Chinese population: a single-centre study of 51 patients

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this paper is to clarify the demographic, clinical and serologic characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) overlap syndrome, known as 'rhupus syndrome'.

METHODS

Between 1995 and 2012, 51 patients were classified as having rhupus among 3733 consecutive SLE patients. Rhupus was defined as a condition involving an overlap of RA and SLE features meeting the respective criteria of the American College of Rheumatology. The clinical and laboratory parameters of patients with rhupus syndrome were compared with those of 230 RA patients and 120 unselected SLE patients.

RESULTS

The age at the onset of rhupus was significantly younger than that of RA (p < 0.05), but similar to that of SLE. The initial manifestation was arthritis in 84.3% (43/51) of rhupus patients. Symptoms of SLE manifested after an average of 9.2 years. SLE was the initial diagnosis in 7.8% (four of 51) of patients, whereas both diseases developed simultaneously in 7.8% of the patients. SLE-associated manifestations were mild in rhupus syndrome, particularly neurologic disorders. Haematopoietic involvement was the most prominent systemic manifestation in rhupus patients.

CONCLUSION

Rhupus syndrome constitutes a subgroup of patients with distinct demographic, clinical and immunological characteristics. RA typically presents first, and less-severe SLE-associated damage is apparent.

Cloning and identification of a novel NhaD-type Na+/H+ antiporter from metagenomic DNA of the halophilic bacteria in soil samples around Daban Salt Lake

In this study, metagenomic DNA was screened for the Na(+)/H(+) antiporter gene from the halophilic bacteria in Daban Salt Lake by selection in Escherichia coli KNabc lacking three major Na(+)/H(+) antiporters. One gene designated as Hb_nhaD encoding a novel NhaD-type Na(+)/H(+) antiporter was finally cloned. The presence of Hb_NhaD conferred tolerance of E. coli KNabc to up to 0.5 M NaCl and 0.2 M LiCl, and an alkaline pH. Hb_NhaD has the highest identity (70.6%) with a putative NhaD-type Na(+)/H(+) antiporter from an uncharacterized Clostridiaceae species, and also has lower identity with known NhaD-type Na(+)/H(+) antiporters from Halomonas elongata (20.8%), Alkalimonas amylolytica (19.0%), Vibrio parahaemolyticus (18.9%) and Vibrio cholerae (18.7 %). pH-dependent Na(+)(Li(+))/H(+) antiport activity was detected from everted membrane vesicles prepared from E. coli KNabc carrying Hb_nhaD. Hb_NhaD exhibited very high Na(+)(Li(+))/H(+) antiport activity over a wide pH range from 6.5 to 9.0 with the highest activity at pH 7.0 which is significantly different from those of the above known NhaD-type Na(+)/H(+) antiporters. Also, the apparent K m values of Hb_NhaD for Na(+) and Li(+) at pH 7.0 were determined to be 1.31 and 2.16, respectively. Based on the above results, we proposed that Hb_NhaD should be categorized as a novel NhaD-type Na(+)/H(+) antiporter.

[Isolation, culture and differentiation of skeletal muscle satellite cells of Luxi cattle embryo]

OBJECTIVE

To isolate and culture skeletal muscle satellite cells of Luxi cattle embryo and study its biological characteristics.

METHODS

The skeletal muscles were taken from the limbs of Luxi cattle embryo of 30-50 d old to isolate and culture the skeletal muscle satellite cells by differential adherence method and co-digestion of type I collagenase and trypsin. Satellite cell surface markers, desmin, MyoD, c-Met, Myf5 and pax7 were detected by immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR, and its biological characteristics were researched.

RESULTS

The satellite cells were cultured to over passage 15. Cell viability was (97.90 ± 0.96)% after cryopreservation. The immunocytochemical staining showed that the specific surface antigen markers desmin and MyoD were positive, and RT-PCR also indicated the positive expressions of desmin, Myf5, c-Met and pax7. Colony formation was (56.39 ± 1.41)%. The karyotype analysis demonstrated that the isolated satellite cells were all derived from normal cattle embryos. Bovine satellite cells were successfully induced into osteoblasts and neuron-like cells by various inductors, and were positively expressed after alizarin red and toluidine blue staining. The osteoblast specific genes osteopontin and type I collagen and the nerve cell specific genes MAP-2 and nestin were positive by RT-PCR.

CONCLUSION

The skeletal muscle satellite cells of the Luxi cattle embryo are successfully isolated and cultured in vitro , They have the ability of being differentiated into osteoblasts and neuron-like cells.

Research potential of multi-lineage chicken amniotic mesenchymal stem cells

Amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs) express octamer binding transcription factor 4 (Oct-4), which is necessary for maintaining the undifferentiated state of pluripotent stem cells. AMSCs also express CD29, CD44 and vimentin, which are specific markers of mesenchymal cells. We studied the biological characteristics and potential for cell therapy of AMSCs derived from 8-day-old chicken embryos. We induced the AMSCs to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts and myocardial cells and used immunofluorescence, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays to detect the expressions of specific markers of AMSCs and differentiated cells. To assess the differentiation capacity of AMSCs, passage four cells were induced to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts and myocardial cells. These results suggested that AMSCs isolated from chicken embryos exhibited the characteristics of multipotent stem cells. AMSCs, therefore, may be potential candidates for cellular transplantation therapy and tissue engineering.

Optical and Structural Characterization of Zinc Implanted Silica Under Various Thermal Treatments

Zinc ion implanted silica with controlled thermal annealing has been investigated. Low temperature optical measurements indicate the presence of Zn clusters in the as-implanted silica. Optical spectra of the annealed sample under a reducing environment suggest Zn cluster and Zn metal colloid formation. The absorption peak at ∼5.3 eV may be due to the surface plasma absorption of Zn metal colloids in silica. The oxidized samples (10 and 6 x 1016 ions/cm2) show an absorption peak at ∼4.3 and ∼4.8 eV, respectively and imply ZnO quantum dot formation. The blueshift in exciton absorption can be attributed to the quantum confinement effects.

Selective Purcell enhancement of defect emission in ZnO thin films

A zinc interstitial defect present but unobservable in ZnO thin films annealed at 500 °C in oxygen or in atmosphere was selectively detected by interaction of the film with an Ag surface-plasmon polariton. The time-dependent differential reflectivity of the ZnO near the ZnO/MgO interface exhibited a subpicosecond decay followed by a several nanosecond recovery, consistent with the Purcell-enhanced Zn interstitial luminescence seen in Ag-ZnO heterostructures. Heterostructures annealed at other temperatures showed significantly greater band-edge photoluminescence and no evidence of the Zn interstitial defect.

Subclinical hypothyroidism and its association with lupus nephritis: a case control study in a large cohort of Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid diseases in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and the relevance of subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) with lupus nephritis (LN). A large cohort of 1006 SLE patients was retrospectively analyzed. The prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease was 2.78%, clinical hypothyroidism 1.69%, subclinical hypothyroidism 10.04%, central hypothyroidism 1.29%, hyperthyroidism 1.19%, euthyroid sick syndrome (ESS) 9.54%, and nodules 1.09%, respectively. Compared with the prevalence of thyroid abnormalities in the general Chinese population (0.91–6.05%), SCH was much higher (10.04%) in this study. In addition, SCH was more frequent in patients with LN (13.4%) than those without LN (7.3%, p = 0.001). Case control study was performed to explore the relative risk factors of SCH. In multiple logistic regression models, 24 h urine protein and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were retained as independent correlates of SCH after adjusting for demographic variables, risk factors, and other potential confounders. The results of the present study suggest that SCH is a common complication in SLE patients, and closely related with LN.

Nanocrystals and Quantum Dots Formed by High-Dose Ion Implantation

Ion implantation and thermal annealing have been used to produce a wide range of nanocrystals and quantum dots in amorphous (SiO2) and crystalline (AI2O3) matrices. Nanocrystals of metals (Au), elemental semiconductors (Si and Ge), and even compound semiconductors (SiGe, CdSe, CdS) have been produced. In amophous matrices, the nanocrystals are randomly oriented, but in crystalline matrices they are three dimensionally aligned. Evidence for photoluminescence and quantum confinement effects are presented.

Silicon Quantum Dots in Silica

Silicon ions were implanted into fused silica substrates at doses of 1×1021, 2×1021, 5×1021, and 1×1022 ions/cm3. The implanted substrates were annealed at 1100°C for one hour in a reducing atmosphere (95% Ar+5% H2). Optical absorption spectra recorded after the annealing treatment showed absorption onsets at 3.86, 3.73, 2.86 and 2.52 eV for substrates implanted with 1×1021, 2×1021, 5×1021, and 1×1022 ions/cm3, respectively. Static photoluminescence (PL) measurements indicated red emission between 1.72 and 1.61 nm with a slightly increasing red shift with ion dose. Time resolved PL at room temperature revealed slow (∼50 μs) and fast (×20 μs) lifetimes which increased with decreasing temperature. TEM studies showed that the particle size increased with increasing ion dose. Typical particle sizes ranged between 2 and 5 nm indicating quantum confinement of the exciton, which can account for the blue shift in the absorption edge with decreasing ion dose. However, the maxima in the PL spectra for all ion doses are relatively independent of the ion dose and are strongly shifted from the absorption spectra. This suggests that radiative recombination occurs from a common luminescent center, possibly a surface or interfacial state in thexs SiOx, layer surrounding the nanocrystal.

Why does the Great Chinese Famine affect the male and female survivors differently? Mortality selection versus son preference

Evidence shows that exposure to nutritional adversity in early life has larger long-term impacts on women than on men. Consistent with these findings, our paper shows a higher incidence of disability and illiteracy among female survivors of the Great Chinese Famine (1959-1961). Moreover we find that the better health of male survivors most plausibly reflects higher male excess mortality during the famine, whereas the observed gender difference in illiteracy rate is probably better explained by the culture of son preference.

[Phosphate adsorption characteristics on the desert particulates of inflow Yellow River]

Adsorption behaviors of phosphate on the desert particulates of inflow Yellow River were investigated in natural water (river water and sea water) and the experimental data was fitted by both the improved Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm adsorption models. The results show that (1) With more clear physical meaning and more reasonable fitting parameters, the improved Langmuir isotherm adsorption model is much better for describing phosphate adsorption on the desert particulates than the improved Freundlich isotherm adsorption model; (2) The maximum phosphorus (P) adsorption capacity Qmac is in the range of 41.322-357.143 mg x kg(-1), which is the biggest in Y2 (Juyanhai Lake particulates). There is remarkable positive correlation between Qmax and organic matter of the particulates (Y1-Y5); (3) Except for Y1 (Badain Jaran Desert particulates), the EPC0 (zero equilibrium P concentration) of the particulates are higher than the concentration of P in corresponding water. The EPC0 of P adsorption on Y1 in Yellow River is lower than P concentration in corresponding water (0.010 mg x L(-1) < 0.053 mg x L(-1)), while the EPC0 of P adsorption on Y1 in Bohai Sea water is higher than the P concentration in their corresponding water (0.109 mg x L(-1) > 0.074 mg x L(-1)), which shows that Y1 adsorbs P from the water of the Yellow River, then it releases its NAP (native adsorbed exchangeable phosphorus) into Bohai Seawater. However, in the process of the P exchange between other desert particulates and their corresponding water, only desorption phenomenon were observed, which means all other desert particulates release P to their corresponding water; (4) The adsorption isotherms of phosphate on the desert particulates of inflow Yellow River are cross-axis-type with over 0.00, a new cross-axis-type adsorption-desorption model, which provide a better explanation for adsorption characteristics of P and for the dual role of natural particulates.

Increased short circuit current in organic photovoltaic using high-surface area electrode based on ZnO nanowires decorated with CdTe quantum dots

A photosensitized high-surface area transparent electrode has been employed to increase the short circuit current of a photovoltaic device with a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and (6,6)-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as the active layer. This is achieved by directly growing ZnO nanowires on indium tin oxide (ITO) film via a physical vapor method. The nanowire surface is then decorated with CdTe quantum dots by pulsed electron-beam deposition (PED). The nanowires alone provided a 20-fold increase in the short circuit current under visible light illumination. This was further increased by a factor of approximately 1.5 by the photosensitization effect of CdTe, which has an optical absorption of up to 820 nm.

Enhancement of ZnO photoluminescence by localized and propagating surface plasmons

Insulating spacer layers of MgO were used to identify the enhancement mechanisms of the ZnO band-edge and visible luminescence in ZnO-MgO-Ag and ZnO-MgO-Au multilayers. Purcell enhancement of the ZnO band-edge emission by both Ag and Au surface plasmon polaritons is confirmed by demonstrating that the exponential decay of this emission as a function of increasing MgO thickness is consistent with the Ag and Au SPP evanescent decay lengths. Local surface plasmons excited in Ag and Au nanoparticles and rough films are also shown to enhance the ZnO visible donor-acceptor-pair photoluminescence by dipole-dipole scattering, again with an appropriate dependence on the thickness of the MgO spacer layer. We also confirm that both Ag and Au nanoparticles enhance the ZnO band-edge emission by charge transfer when the MgO spacer layer is absent.

Photoluminescence of ZnO nanocrystals embedded in BaF2 matrices by magnetron sputtering

This paper describes ZnO nanocrystals embedded in BaF2 matrices by the magnetron sputtering method in an attempt to use fluoride as a shell layer to embed ZnO nanocrystals core. BaF2 is a wide-band gap material, and can confine carriers in the ZnO films. As a result, the exciton emission intensity should be enhanced. The sample was annealed at 773 K, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that ZnO nanocrystals with wurtzite structure were embedded in BaF2 matrices. Raman-scattering spectra also confirmed the formation of ZnO nanoparticles. Abnormal longitudinal-optical (LO) phonon-dominant multiphonon Raman scattering was observed in the sample. Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra showed an ultraviolet emission peak at 374 nm. The origin of the ultraviolet emission is discussed here with the help of temperature-dependent PL spectra. The ultraviolet emission band was a mixture of free exciton and bound exciton recombination observed in the low temperature PL spectra (at 77 K). Abnormal temperature dependence of ultraviolet near-band-edge emission-integrated intensity of the sample was observed. The band tail state was observed in the absorption spectra, illustrating that the impurity-related defects were caused by the shell of the BaF2 grain layer. For comparison, ZnO films on BaF2 substrates were also fabricated by the magnetron sputtering method, and the same measurement methods were used.

Impact of famine during pregnancy and infancy on health in adulthood

The objectives of the present study are (i) To examine the association between fetal nutritional status and overweight and obesity in adulthood and (ii) to provide the evidence for formulating a strategy to prevent low birth weight. With data from the 2002 Nationwide Nutrition and Health Survey, the body mass indexes (BMIs) of rural residents born during the famine years of 1959, 1960, 1961 were compared with those born in 1964. The health consequence of famine on the adulthood BMI was evident in women; the mean BMIs of the women were significantly higher in the three famine groups than that in the control group born in 1964 (P < 0.01). After adjustment for regional differences within China, the prevalences of overweight in women were significantly higher in the three famine groups (P < 0.01) and of obesity in the 1959 and 1960 groups. (P < 0.01). Such differences were not found in men. The higher risks of overweight and obesity in women were caused by malnutrition in fetal life. A strategy for preventing low birth weight should be formulated by the government to prevent chronic disease in adulthood.

Elderly parent health and the migration decisions of adult children: Evidence from rural China

Recent research has shown that participation in migrant labor markets has led to substantial increases in income for families in rural China. This article addresses the question of how participation is affected by elderly parent health. We find that younger adults are less likely to work as migrants when a parent is ill. Poor health of an elderly parent has less impact on the probability of employment as a migrant when an adult child has siblings who may be available to provide care. We also highlight the potential importance of including information on nonresident family members when studying how parent illness and elder care requirements influence the labor supply decisions of adult children.