Doping Dependence of Thermal Oxidation on n-type 4H-SiC

The doping dependence of dry thermal oxidation rates in n-type 4H-SiC was investigated. The oxidation was performed in the temperature range 1000C to 1200C for samples with nitrogen doping in the range of 6.5e15/cm3 to 9.3e18/cm3, showing a clear doping dependence. Samples with higher doping concentrations displayed higher oxidation rates. The results were interpreted using a modified Deal-Grove model. Linear and parabolic rate constants and activation energies were extracted. Increasing nitrogen led to an increase in linear rate constant pre-exponential factor from 10-6m/s to 10-2m/s and the parabolic rate constant pre-exponential factor from 10e9m2/s to 10e6m2/s. The increase in linear rate constant was attributed to defects from doping-induced lattice mismatch, which tend to be more reactive than bulk crystal regions. The increase in the diffusion-limited parabolic rate constant was attributed to degradation in oxide quality originating from the doping-induced lattice mismatch. This degradation was confirmed by the observation of a decrease in optical density of the grown oxide films from 1.4 to 1.24. The linear activation energy varied from 1.6eV to 2.8eV, while the parabolic activation energy varied from 2.7eV to 3.3eV, increasing with doping concentration. These increased activation energies were attributed to higher nitrogen content, leading to an increase in effective bond energy stemming from the difference in C-Si (2.82eV) and Si-N (4.26eV) binding energies. This work provides crucial information in the engineering of SiO2 dielectrics for SiC MOS structures, which typically involve regions of very different doping concentrations, and suggests that thermal oxidation at high doping concentrations in SiC may be defect mediated.Comment: 13 pages. 9 figures, accepted as a transiction in IEEE electron device. TED MS#8035

Plasmon-phonon coupling in large-area graphene dot and antidot arrays

Nanostructured graphene on SiO2 substrates pave the way for enhanced light-matter interactions and explorations of strong plasmon-phonon hybridization in the mid-infrared regime. Unprecedented large-area graphene nanodot and antidot optical arrays are fabricated by nanosphere lithography, with structural control down to the sub-100 nanometer regime. The interaction between graphene plasmon modes and the substrate phonons is experimentally demonstrated and structural control is used to map out the hybridization of plasmons and phonons, showing coupling energies of the order 20 meV. Our findings are further supported by theoretical calculations and numerical simulations.Comment: 7 pages including 6 figures. Supporting information is available upon request to author

Assessment of sperm quality traits in relation to fertility in boar semen

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several studies have been published where sperm plasma membrane integrity correlated to fertility. In this study we describe a simple fluorometer-based assay where we monitored the fluorescence intensity of artificially membrane-ruptured spermatozoa with a fixed time staining with fluorescent DNA dyes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Membrane-impermeant fluorescent dyes Hoechst 33258 (H258) and propidium iodide (PI) were used to measure the fluorescence of the nucleus in artificially membrane ruptured spermatozoa and membrane-permeant dye Hoechst 33342 (H342) was used to measure fluorescence of intact spermatozoa. The concentration of spermatozoa in insemination doses varied from 31.2 × 10⁶/ml to 50 × 10⁶/ml and the average value was 35 × 10⁶/ml. Each boar was represented by three consecutive ejaculates, collected at weekly intervals. Nonreturn rate within 60 days of first insemination (NR %) and litter size (total number of piglets born) of multiparous farrowings were used as fertility measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sperm fluorescence intensity of H258 and H342, but not the fluorescence intensity of PI-stained spermatozoa correlated significantly with the litter size of multiparous farrowings, values being r = - 0.68 (P < 0.01) for H258, r = - 0.69 (P < 0.01) for H342 and r = - 0.38, (P = 0.11) for PI.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The increase in fluorescence values of membrane-ruptured H258 and unruptured H342-stained spermatozoa in boar AI doses can be associated with smaller litter size after AI. This finding indicates that the fluorescence properties of the sperm nucleus could be used to select for AI doses with greater fertilizing potential.</p

Follow up and comparative assessment of IgG, IgA, and neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 between mRNA-vaccinated naïve and unvaccinated naturally infected individuals over 10 months

BackgroundEvidence on the effectiveness of vaccination-induced immunity compared to SARS-CoV-2 natural immunity is warranted to inform vaccination recommendations. AimIn this study, we aimed to conduct a comparative assessment of antibody responses between vaccinated naïve (VN) and unvaccinated naturally infected individuals (NI) over 10 Months. MethodThe study comprised fully-vaccinated naïve individuals (VN; n = 596) who had no history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and received two doses of either BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273, and naturally infected individuals who had a documented history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and no vaccination record (NI cohort; n = 218). We measured the levels of neutralizing total antibodies (NtAbs), anti-S-RBD IgG, and anti-S1 IgA titers among VN and NI up to ∼10 months from administration of the first dose, and up to ∼7 months from SARS-CoV-2 infection, respectively. To explore the relationship between the antibody responses and time, Spearman's correlation coefficient was computed. Furthermore, correlations between the levels of NtAbs/anti-S-RBD IgG and NtAbs/anti-S1 IgA were examined through pairwise correlation analysis. ResultsUp to six months, VN individuals had a significantly higher NtAb and anti-S-RBD IgG antibody responses compared to NI individuals. At the 7th month, there was a significant decline in antibody responses among VN individuals, but not NI individuals, with a minimum decrease of 3.7-fold (p < 0.001). Among VN individuals, anti-S1 IgA levels began to decrease significantly (1.4-fold; p = 0.007) after two months, and both NtAb and S-RBD IgG levels began to decline significantly (NtAb: 2.0-fold; p = 0.042, S-RBD IgG: 2.4-fold; p = 0.035) after three months. After 10 months, the most significant decline among VN individuals was observed for S-RBD-IgG (30.0-fold; P < 0.001), followed by NtAb (15.7-fold; P < 0.001) and S-IgA (3.7-fold; P < 0.001) (most stable). Moreover, after 5 months, there was no significant difference in the IgA response between the two groups. ConclusionThese findings have important implications for policymakers in the development of vaccination strategies, particularly in the consideration of booster doses to sustain long-lasting protection against COVID-19.This work was made possible by WHO grant number COVID-19-22-43 and grant number UREP28-173-3-057 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors

Ser/Thr/Tyr Protein Phosphorylation in the Archaeon Halobacterium salinarum—A Representative of the Third Domain of Life

In the quest for the origin and evolution of protein phosphorylation, the major regulatory post-translational modification in eukaryotes, the members of archaea, the “third domain of life”, play a protagonistic role. A plethora of studies have demonstrated that archaeal proteins are subject to post-translational modification by covalent phosphorylation, but little is known concerning the identities of the proteins affected, the impact on their functionality, the physiological roles of archaeal protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation, and the protein kinases/phosphatases involved. These limited studies led to the initial hypothesis that archaea, similarly to other prokaryotes, use mainly histidine/aspartate phosphorylation, in their two-component systems representing a paradigm of prokaryotic signal transduction, while eukaryotes mostly use Ser/Thr/Tyr phosphorylation for creating highly sophisticated regulatory networks. In antithesis to the above hypothesis, several studies showed that Ser/Thr/Tyr phosphorylation is also common in the bacterial cell, and here we present the first genome-wide phosphoproteomic analysis of the model organism of archaea, Halobacterium salinarum, proving the existence/conservation of Ser/Thr/Tyr phosphorylation in the “third domain” of life, allowing a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the so-called “Nature's premier” mechanism for regulating the functional properties of proteins

Mining Big Data for Tourist Hot Spots: Geographical Patterns of Online Footprints

Understanding the complex, and often unequal, spatiality of tourist demand in urban contexts requires other methodologies, among which the information base available online and in social networks has gained prominence. Innovation supported by Information and Communication Technologies in terms of data access and data exchange has emerged as a complementary supporting tool for the more traditional data collection techniques currently in use, particularly, in urban destinations where there is the need to more (near)real-time monitoring. The capacity to collect and analise massive amounts of data on individual and group behaviour is leading to new data-rich research approaches. This chapter addresses the potential for discovering geographical insights regarding tourists’ spatial patterns within a destination, based on the analysis of geotagged data available from two social networks. ·info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio