The Rayleigh law in silicon doped hafnium oxide ferroelectric thin films

A wealth of studies have confirmed that the low‐field hysteresis behaviour of ferroelectric bulk ceramics and thin films can be described using Rayleigh relations, and irreversible domain wall motion across the array of pining defects has been commonly accepted as the underlying micro‐mechanism. Recently, HfO₂ thin films incorporated with various dopants were reported to show pronounced ferroelectricity, however, their microscopic domain structure remains unclear till now. In this work, the effects of the applied electric field amplitude, frequency and temperature on the sub‐coercive polarization reversal properties were investigated for 10 nm thick Si‐doped HfO₂ thin films. The applicability of the Rayleigh law to ultra‐thin ferroelectric films was first confirmed, indicating the existence of a multi‐domain structure. Since the grain size is about 20–30 nm, a direct observation of domain walls within the grains is rather challenging and this indirect method is a feasible approach to resolve the domain structure. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The oxygen sensitive properties of (LaBa)Co2O5+δ thin films fabricated by polymer-assisted deposition technique

(LaBa)Co₂O_5+δ (LBCO) thin films were successfully fabricated on Si (001) substrates by polymer-assisted deposition method. Microstructures were examined by X-ray diffraction technique, which confirmed the films were a single phase, pseudo cubic structure. The electrical transport properties of the films were investigated by the temperature dependence of films resistance, which suggested that LBCO films have typical semiconductor properties. After circle tests, the oxygen–hydrogen response rate did not show obvious variation in the specific temperature environment of 580 °C. This demonstrates that the LBCO thin films have a superior stability in both oxygen and hydrogen (6 % H₂, 94 % N₂) environment. Simultaneously, the drastic changes of films resistance (from ~10⁶ to ~10² Ω) with the switch of redox (O₂–H₂) environment within such a short time (~2.2 s) indicated that LBCO films have an excellent oxygen sensitive property and extraordinary fast surface exchange rate.     

Antiproliferative effect of 2-Hydroxy-6-tridecylbenzoic acid from ginkgo biloba sarcotestas through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway in triple-negative breast cancer cells

Abstract

This study aims to isolate the potential antiproliferative and cytotoxic compounds from ginkgo biloba sarcotestas (GBS) and investigates the underlying mechanism in human MDA-MB-231 and mouse 4T-1 triple-negative breast cancer cells. Our results showed that 2-Hydroxy-6-tridecylbenzoic acid was isolated by cytotoxicity-guided fractionation where different fractions were assessed using MTT assay against MDA-MB-231 and 4T-1 cells. Colony formation assay showed that 2-Hydroxy-6-tridecylbenzoic acid significantly inhibited cell proliferation. The inhibition was associated with the enhancement of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1B1 expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner and no significant change of CYP1A1 expression by qPCR and Western blot assays in MDA-MB-231 and 4T-1 cells. The mechanism was further demonstrated by the activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway with the upregulation of AhR, AhR nuclear translocator (ARNT) and AhR-dependent xenobiotic response elements (XRE) activity. These findings may have implications for development of anticancer agents containing 2-Hydroxy-6-tridecylbenzoic acid as functional additives.     

平行排列液晶器件的波前调制特性

设计了一种新型的平行排列液晶相位调制器(LC PM),可在纯相位的模式下进行相位调制,研究了液晶相位调制器的光学特性,理论上给予了分析．对畸变波前进行了调制,在1 cm2的校正面积上,调制后的准确度PV(peak to valley)值接近λ／15(λ=0.6328 μm),RMS(Root Means Square)可达到λ／100,斯特列尔比SR (Strehl Ratio)达到0.989．改变了传统的扭曲向列液晶器件难于进行纯相位调制和得到高准确度调制的缺点,达到了理想的效果.     

Rapid screening of phenylketonuria using a CD microfluidic device

We herein present a compact disc (CD) microfluidic chip based hybridization assay for phenylketonuria (PKU) screening. This CD chip is composed of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) top layer containing 12 DNA hybridization microchannels, and a glass bottom layer with hydrogel pad conjugated DNA oligonucleotides. Reciprocating flow was generated on the CD chip through a simple rotation-pause operation to facilitate rapid DNA hybridization. When rotated the CD chip, the sample solution was driven into the hybridization channel by centrifugal force. When stopped the CD chip, the sample plug was pulled backward through the channel by capillary force. The hybridization assay was firstly validated with control samples and was then used to analyze 30 clinical samples from pregnant women with suspected PKU fetus. The on-chip DNA hybridization was completed in 15 min with a sample consumption as low as 1.5μL, and the limit-of-detection (LOD) of DNA template was 0.7ng/μL. Among the 30 samples tested, V245V mutation was identified in 4 cases while R243Q mutation was detected in one case. Results of the hybridization assay were confirmed by DNA sequencing. This CD-chip based hybridization assay features short analysis time, simple operation and low cost, thus has the potential to serve as the tool for PKU screening.     

Design of parallel microfluidic gradient-generating networks for studying cellular response to chemical stimuli

A microfluidic chip featuring laminar flow-based parallel gradient-generating networks was designed and fabricated. The microchip contains 5 gradient generators and 30 cell chambers where the resulting concentration gradients of drugs are delivered to stimulate on-chip cultured cells. The microfluidics exploits the advantage of lab-on-a-chip technology by integrating the generation of drug concentration gradients and a series of cell operations including seeding, culture, stimulation and staining into a chip. The microfluidic network was patterned on a glass wafer, which was further bonded to a PDMS film. A series of weir structures were fabricated on the cell culture reservoir to facilitate cell positioning and seeding. Cell injection and fluid delivery were controlled by a syringe pump. Steady parallel concentration gradients were generated by flowing two fluids in each network. Over time observation shows that the microchip was suitable for cell seeding and culture. The microchip described above was applied in studying the role of reduced glutathione (GSH) in mediating chemotherapy sensitivity of MCF-7 cells. MCF-7 cells were treated with concentration gradients of As₂O₃ and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) for GSH modulation, followed by exposure to adriamycin. GSH levels were down-regulated upon As₂O₃ treatment and up-regulated upon NAC treatment. Suppression of intracellular GSH by treatment with As₂O₃ has been shown to increase sensitivity to adriamycin. Conversely, elevation of intracellular GSH by treatment with NAC leads to increased drug resistance. The integrated microfluidic chip is able to perform multiparametric pharmacological profiling with easy operation, and thus holds great potential for extrapolation to the cell based high-content drug screening. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 2008, 36(2): 143–149     

基于概念密度泛函理论磷酸酯类反应性物质毒性预测

磷酸酯类反应性物质是乙酰胆碱酯酶不可逆抑制剂。本文应用概念密度泛函理论(CDFT),采用四组条件(B3LYP/6-311++G(2d, 3p)/gas,B3LYP/6-311++G(2d, 3p)/CPCM/water,MP2/6-311++G(2d, 3p)/gas,MP2/6-311++ G(2d, 3p)/CPCM/water),对20多个磷酸酯反应性物质进行反应性描述指数计算,包括分子的化学势μ,绝对硬度η、亲电性指数ω、分子的前线轨道能量等分子整体描述参数,以及原子福井函数、自然键轨道(NBO)电荷、Wiberg键级、NBO键级等分子局域描述参数。通过对反应性描述指数以及定量构性关系(QSPR)方程预测结果的比较分析,得出结论：大多数化合物亲电进攻的反应中心发生在磷原子上;磷酸酯类化合物侧链乙胺基叔氮的质子化,将显著增强反应中心磷原子的亲电进攻能力;B3LYP/6-311++G(2d, 3p)/gas为最合理的计算条件;应用反应性描述指数建立的QSPR模型明显优于常规的2D-QSPR模型,能够用于乙酰胆碱酯酶不可逆抑制剂的精确毒性预测。     

Optimization for high precision Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor

A comprehensive noise model about digital camera which is a main component of SHWFS is constructed, including the readout noise, the photon shot noise, the quantization noise and the response un-uniformity. Based on the noise model, the spot centroid errors caused by each kind of noise are analyzed, respectively. And then the synthetic error from all the noise is calculated. The result demonstrates that the limit of the spot centroid accuracy is 1% pixels. At last, the crossing error caused by the high order diffraction spots is analyzed. It is approximately proportional to the secondary spots number. So the structure of the microlens array must be optimized together with the digital camera when designing SHWFS.     

Analysis of multiplex PCR fragments with PMMA microchip

Microchip electrophoresis is a promising technique for analysis of bio-molecules. It has the advantages of fast analysis, high sensitivity, high resolution and low-cost of samples. Plastic chip has the potential of mass production for clinical use for its advantages in biocompatibility and low cost. In this work, the method for fabrication of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) chip was described, and conditions for DNA separation were investigated with the chip. The PMMA microchip was used for detection of multiplex PCR products of 18 and 36 cases with SARS and hepatitis B virus infection under optimized separation conditions. Microchip electrophoresis showed higher sensitivity, higher resolution and less time consumption when compared with gel electrophoresis. The microchip electrophoresis with PMMA chip provided a rapid, sensitive and reliable method for analysis of multiplex PCR products.