Quantitative analysis of multiple elements in healthy and remodeled epithelium from human upper airway mucosa using nuclear microscopy

Elements are vital in airway mucosal physiology and pathology, but their distribution and levels in the mucosa remain unclear. This study uses the state-of-the-art nuclear microscopy facility to map and quantify multiple elements in the histology sections of nasal mucosa from patients with nasal polyps or inverted papilloma. Our results demonstrate that P and Ca are the most abundant elements in mucosa and their distinct difference between epithelial and subepithelial regions; more importantly, our results reveal decreased amounts of Cu and Zn in the remodeled epithelium as compared to the normal epithelium. These findings suggest that Cu and Zn may be beneficial targets to regulate aberrant epithelial remodeling in airway inflammation.

Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance in Au Nanoparticles Embedded dc Sputtered ZnO Thin Films

The plasmonic behavior of metallic nanoparticles is explicitly dependent on their shape, size and the surrounding dielectric space. This study encompasses the influence of ZnO matrix, morphology of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) and their organization on the optical behavior of ZnO/AuNPs-ZnO/ZnO/GP structures (GP: glass plate). These structures have been grown by a multiple-step physical process, which includes dc sputtering, thermal evaporation and thermal annealing. Different analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, glancing angle X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and optical absorption have been used to study the structures. In-situ rapid thermal treatment during dc sputtering of ZnO film has been found to induce subtle changes in the morphology of AuNPs, thereby altering the profile of the plasmon band in the absorption spectra. The results have been contrasted with a recent study on the spectral response of dc magnetron sputtered ZnO films embedded with AuNPs. Initial simulation results indicate that AuNPs-ZnO/Au/GP structure reflects/absorbs UV and infrared radiations, and therefore can serve as window coatings.

Formation and Stability of NI(PT) Silicide on (100)SI and (111)SI

The effect of a small amount of Pt (5 at.%) on the thermal stability of NiSi film on (100)Si and (111 )Si has been investigated. Rutherford back scattering, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and X-ray diffraction have been used to study the formation, microstructure and orientation of the silicide. The addition of platinum results in increasing the disilicide nucleation temperature to 900°C and thus leads to a better stability of NiSi at high IC processing temperatures. The presence of Pt also induced a texture of the NiSi film both on (11 1)Si and (100)Si. The increase in thermal stability is explained in terms of nucleation controlled reaction concept and should open new possibilities for the use of NiSi in self aligned silicidation. The redistribution of Pt in the silicide is examined and explained in terms of kinetics and thermodynamics considerations. The addition of Pt also increases the temperature of agglomeration of NiSi.

Optical and physical properties of solgel-derived GeO2:SiO2 films in photonic applications

The functionality of optical components relies heavily on the composition-dependent properties of germanosilicate materials, which include the refractive index, photosensitivity, and microstructural properties. Recent studies and parallel developments are presented of germanosilicate films with composition x of Ge content (i.e., xGeO(2):(1-x)SiO(2)) that were synthesized by the solgel process for various integrated photonic applications undertaken. The following novel aspects are discussed with respect to the effect of composition of the glassy films (0.05</=x</=0.40): determination of spectral optical properties, UV imprinting of optical waveguides with relatively large index change (Dn), and quantum-well intermixing enhancement observed in InGaAs(P)/InP quantum-well optical devices. The implications of the results are discussed.

Enhanced planar channeling of MeV protons through thin crystals

At certain tilt alignments between a MeV proton beam and a planar channeling direction, a single interface lattice rotation within a crystal can result in a lower rate of dechanneling than at planar alignment in a perfect crystal. Such planar channeling enhancement arises when the beam passes through a layer thickness which is a half-multiple of the oscillation wavelength and then encounters a small interface rotation which is matched to the beam tilt angle. The beam is projected into the center of the phase space ellipse below the interface, resulting in certain trajectories undergoing a reduction in their transverse energy, in a manner analogous to stochastic cooling or atom laser cooling.