On the effects of NBTI degradation in p-MOSFET devices

This paper presents the effects of interface trap concentration and threshold voltage shift on NBTI degradation in p-MOSFETs. To explore the degradation mechanisms, transistors having an EOT of 1.1 nm and 5 nm were simulated by applying various stress conditions. The NBTI degradation mechanism was studied by varying the gate voltage, temperature and substrate doping level. The simulations show NBTI degradation in terms of the threshold voltage shift, ΔV_th and number of interface traps, ΔN_it. The simulation results show an improved degradation trend in terms of ΔV_th and ΔN_it when the substrate doping level is increased.     

Effects of gold catalysts and thermal evaporation method modifications on the growth process of Zn1−xMgxO nanowires

In this paper, we investigate the roles of gold catalysts and thermal evaporation method modifications in the growth process of Zn_1−xMg_xO nanowires. Zn_1−xMg_xO nanowires are fabricated on silicon substrates with and without using a gold catalyst. Characterizations reveal that Mg acts in a self-catalyst role during the growth process of Zn_1−xMg_xO nanowires grown on catalyst-free substrate. The optical properties and crystalline quality of the Zn_1−xMg_xO nanowires are characterized by room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The Raman and PL studies demonstrate that the Zn_1−xMg_xO nanowires grown using the catalyst-free method have good crystallinity with excellent optical properties and have a larger band-gap in comparison to those grown with the assistance of gold.     

Characterization and field emission properties of ZnMgO nanowires fabricated by thermal evaporation process

In this paper, we investigate the roles of gold catalyst using modified thermal evaporation set-up in the growth process of ZnMgO nanowires. ZnMgO nanowires are fabricated on silicon substrates using different thickness of gold catalyst. A simple horizontal double-tube system along with chemical vapor diffusion of the precursors, based on Fick’s first law, is used to grow the ZnMgO nanowires. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images show that the ZnMgO nanowires are tapered. The optical properties of the ZnMgO nanowires are characterized by room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The PL studies demonstrate that the ZnMgO nanowires grown using this method have good crystallinity with excellent optical properties and have a larger band-gap in comparison to the pure ZnO nanowires. Field emission characterization shows that the turn-on field for the nanowires grown on the thinner gold film is lower than those grown on the thicker gold film.     

Synthesis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of fused pyrimidines

Ethy phenylpropiolate reacted with 2-aminobenzothiazoles, benzimidazoles, thiazoline and thiazole to give the corresponding fused 2-oxopyrimidines. 2-Mercaptobenzimidazole reacted with ethyl phenylpropiolate to give 4-phenyl-2H-1-thiapyrimido(1,2-a ]benzimidazol-2-one in very good yield. The thiones, methylthio iodides and the hydrobromides of some of the products were prepared. Analysis of the nmr spectra of the benzothiazole and benzimidazole products and their 3-deuterio analogs showed that the proton at position 6 is shielded and absorbs together with the proton at position 3 near δ 6.0 ppm. The nmr and ir spectral data of all the products are tabulated and discussed.     

Crystal structure analysis of Li<Subscript>3</Subscript>PO<Subscript>4</Subscript> powder prepared by wet chemical reaction and solid-state reaction by using X-ray diffraction (XRD)

Lithium phosphate (Li₃PO₄) is one of the promising solid electrolyte materials for lithium-ion battery because of its high ionic conductivity. A crystalline form of Li₃PO₄ had been prepared by two different methods. The first method was wet chemical reaction between LiOH and H₃PO₄, and the second method was solid-state reaction between Li₂O and P₂O₅. Crystal structure of Li₃PO₄ white powder had been investigated by using an X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The results show that Li₃PO₄ prepared by wet chemical reaction belongs to orthorhombic unit cell of β-Li₃PO₄ with space group Pmn2₁. Meanwhile, Li₃PO₄ powder prepared by solid-state reaction belongs to orthorhombic unit cell of γ-Li₃PO₄ with space group Pmnb and another unknown phase of Li₄P₂O₇. The impurity of Li₄P₂O₇ was due to phase transformation in solid state reaction during quenching of molten mixture from high temperature. Ionic conductivity of Li₃PO₄ prepared by solid-state reaction was ～3.10^?7 S/cm, which was higher than Li₃PO₄ prepared by wet chemical reaction ～4.10^?8 S/cm. This increasing ionic conductivity may due to mixed crystal structures that increased Li-ion mobility in Li₃PO₄.     

An Insight into the Anti-Angiogenic and Anti-Metastatic Effects of Oridonin: Current Knowledge and Future Potential

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, with a mortality rate of more than 9 million deaths reported in 2018. Conventional anti-cancer therapy can greatly improve survival however treatment resistance is still a major problem especially in metastatic disease. Targeted anti-cancer therapy is increasingly used with conventional therapy to improve patients’ outcomes in advanced and metastatic tumors. However, due to the complexity of cancer biology and metastasis, it is urgent to develop new agents and evaluate the anti-cancer efficacy of available treatments. Many phytochemicals from medicinal plants have been reported to possess anti-cancer properties. One such compound is known as oridonin, a bioactive component of Rabdosia rubescens. Several studies have demonstrated that oridonin inhibits angiogenesis in various types of cancer, including breast, pancreatic, lung, colon and skin cancer. Oridonin’s anti-cancer effects are mediated through the modulation of several signaling pathways which include upregulation of oncogenes and pro-angiogenic growth factors. Furthermore, oridonin also inhibits cell migration, invasion and metastasis via suppressing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and blocking downstream signaling targets in the cancer metastasis process. This review summarizes the recent applications of oridonin as an anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic drug both in vitro and in vivo, and its potential mechanisms of action.     

The Role of Genetic Polymorphism and Other Factors on Clopidogrel Resistance (CR) in an Asian Population with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)

Clopidogrel is a widely-used antiplatelet drug. It is important for the treatment and prevention of coronary heart disease. Clopidogrel can effectively reduce platelet activity and therefore reduce stent thrombosis. However, some patients still have ischemic events despite taking the clopidogrel due to the alteration in clopidogrel metabolism attributable to various genetic and non-genetic factors. This review aims to summarise the mechanisms and causes of clopidogrel resistance (CR) and potential strategies to overcome it. This review summarised the possible effects of genetic polymorphism on CR among the Asian population, especially CYP2C19 *2 / *3 / *17, where the prevalence rate among Asians was 23.00%, 4.61%, 15.18%, respectively. The review also studied the effects of other factors and appropriate strategies used to overcome CR. Generally, CR among the Asian population was estimated at 17.2–81.6%. Therefore, our overview provides valuable insight into the causes of RC. In conclusion, understanding the prevalence of drug metabolism-related genetic polymorphism, especially CYP2C19 alleles, will enhance clinical understanding of racial differences in drug reactions, contributing to the development of personalised medicine in Asia.     

A facile synthesis,drug-likeness,and in silico molecular docking of certain new azidosulfonamide–chalcones and their in vitro antimicrobial activity

Monatshefte für Chemie - Chemical Monthly - New azidosulfonamide–chalcone derivatives were designed and synthesized. Their structures were elucidated by 1H and 13C NMR spectral analyses,...     

A Conductive polylactic acid/polyaniline porous scaffold via freeze extraction for potential biomedical applications

This paper reports for the first time a simple yet effective method for fabricating a conductive and highly porous scaffold material made up of polylactic acid (PLA) and conducting polyaniline (PANI). The electrical percolation state was successfully obtained at 3 wt% of PANI inclusions and reached a conductivity level of useable tissue engineering applications at 4 wt%. In addition, preliminary bioactivity test results indicated that the protonating agent could form a chelate at the scaffold surface leading to good in-vitro apatite forming ability during biomimetic immersion. This new conductive scaffold has potential as a suitable biomedical material that requires electrical conductivity.     

Polarization dependence of an edge filter based on singlemode–multimode–singlemode fibre

The polarization dependent loss (PDL) of a singlemode–multimode–singlemode (SMS) fibre structure used as an edge filter is presented. Minor errors in the fabrication process for the SMS fibre structure can introduce SMS fibre core offsets. The PDL due to lateral and rotational core offsets is investigated numerically and experimentally. It is shown that small core offsets are necessary to achieve low PDL for an SMS fibre based edge filter. It is also demonstrated that when lateral core offsets are unavoidable, the PDL of a SMS edge filter can still be minimized by introducing a rotational core offset of 90^°.