Atomically thin mononitrides SiN and GeN: new two-dimensional semiconducting materials

Low-dimensional Si-based semiconductors are unique materials that can both match well with the Si-based electronics and satisfy the demand of miniaturization in modern industry. Owing to the lack of such materials, many researchers put their efforts into this field. In this work, employing a swarm structure search method and density functional theory, we theoretically predict two-dimensional atomically thin mononitrides SiN and GeN, both of which present semiconducting nature. Furthermore study shows that SiN and GeN behave as indirect band gap semiconductors with the gap of 1.75 and 1.20 eV, respectively. The ab initio molecular dynamics calculation tells that both two mononitrides can exist stably even at extremely high temperature of 2000 K. Notably, electron mobilities are evaluated as 0.888x$10^3$ $cm^2V^{-1}s^{-1}$ and 0.413x$10^3$ $cm^2V^{-1}s^{-1}$ for SiN and GeN, respectively. The present work expands the family of low-dimensional Si-based semiconductors.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1703.0389

Serum YKL-40 in coronary heart disease: linkage with inflammatory cytokines, artery stenosis, and optimal cut-off value for estimating major adverse cardiovascular events

ObjectiveYKL-40, previously known as chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1), is an inflammation-related glycoprotein that promotes atherosclerosis, but its application and optimal cut-off value as a prognostic biomarker in coronary heart disease (CHD) require more clinical evidence. Thus, this prospective study aimed to evaluate the linkage of serum YKL-40 with disease features, inflammatory cytokines, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in CHD patients.MethodsA total of 410 CHD patients were enrolled for serum YKL-40 determination via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Meanwhile, serum YKL-40 levels in 100 healthy controls (HCs) were also quantified.ResultsYKL-40 level was higher in CHD patients compared with that in HCs (P < 0.001). YKL-40 was positively linked with hyperlipidemia (P = 0.014), diabetes mellitus (P = 0.001), fasting blood glucose (P = 0.045), C-reactive protein (P < 0.001), the Gensini score (P < 0.001), and stenosis degree (graded by the Gensini score) (P < 0.001) in CHD patients. In addition, an elevated YKL-40 level was associated with increased levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (P = 0.001), interleukin (IL)-1β (P = 0.001), IL-6 (P < 0.001), and IL-17A (P = 0.002) in CHD patients. The 1-/2-/3-year cumulative MACE rates of CHD patients were 5.5%, 14.4%, and 25.0%, respectively. Regarding the prognostic capability, YKL-40 ≥100 ng/ml (the median cut-off value) (P = 0.003) and YKL-40 ≥150 ng/ml (the third interquartile cut-off value) (P = 0.021) reflected an elevated accumulating MACE rate, whereas accumulating MACE was not different between CHD patients with YKL-40 ≥80 and <80 ng/ml (the first interquartile cut-off value) (P = 0.083).ConclusionSerum YKL-40 is positively linked with inflammatory cytokines and the Gensini score, whose high expression cut-off by 100 and 150 ng/ml estimates a higher MACE risk in CHD patients

Synthesis of Amorphous Carbon Film in Ethanol Inverse Diffusion Flames

Recently, carbon nanomaterials have attracted significant attention due to their remarkable physical and chemical properties. The preparation methods and applications of the carbon nanomaterials have developed rapidly. In this study, the flame synthesis of amorphous carbon film grown on copper foil in an ethanol inverse diffusion flame was presented. The effects of ethanol flow rate, the copper foil location in flame and growth time were investigated in detail. The growth status of the synthetic amorphous carbon film was analyzed by an optical microscope and HRTEM (high resolution transmission electron microscope). Raman spectroscopy and XRD (X-ray diffraction) were used to characterize the structure of the carbon film. The roughness of the carbon film was determined by AFM (atomic force microscopy). As the ethanol flow rate increased and the copper foil moved upwards in the flame, the area of the synthetic amorphous carbon film increased. The roughness of carbon films with the growth time of 30 s and 2 min were smaller. In addition, the synthetic amorphous carbon film exhibited a certain degree of flexibility and visual transparency. Through the study, a reference could be provided to find the optimum condition for the flame synthesis of satisfactory amorphous carbon film. For these experiments, when the ethanol flow rate reached 2 mL/min, the copper foil was located on the top of the flame and the growth time was 2 min, an amorphous carbon film with higher quality could be obtained

Water-sprouted, plasma-enhanced Ni-Co phospho-nitride nanosheets boost electrocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen evolution

Chemical waste-free, in situ synthesis of customized earth-abundant-metal based catalysts for high-efficiency water splitting still remains a formidable challenge. Here, Ni-Co hydroxide nanosheets (NCHS) are sprouted from Ni-Co foam (NCF) using an eco-friendly, pure-water-based method, and then are phosphorized and nitrided in N2 + P plasmas. The resulting N-doped Ni-Co phosphide catalyst (N-NiCoPx/NCF) exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance, heralded by the low overpotentials of N-NiCoPx/NCF for generating a current density of 10 and 400 mA cm−2 (j10 and j400) in 1 M KOH of only 23 and 191 mV for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and 298 and 410 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), as well as by the low decay of high current density (j100) in the HER (6.02%) and OER (3.07%) processes for 100 h. Ab inito numerical simulations confirm that Co atom bonded with N represents the active center for overall water splitting.</p

Additional file 3: Figure S1. of Analysis of gene expression in the midgut of Bombyx mori during the larval molting stage

DMSO did not increase BrdU incorporation according to observation by microscopy. DMSO was the solvent for 20E. As a control, the same volume of DMSO (20 %) was injected and the midguts were sampled. As another control, naïve and DMSO-injected larvae were also sampled at 0 h post injection. Some samples of naïve larvae (without 20E injection) and DMSO-injected larvae were stained with secondary (2nd) antibodies only (A-B). DMSO did not enhance BrdU incorporation (E-L). Without BrdU injection or by omitting the primary (1st) antibody against BrdU, there was no signal (A-D). Bar: 50 μm. (PPT 3272 kb

Additional file 5: Figure S2. of Analysis of gene expression in the midgut of Bombyx mori during the larval molting stage

20E increased the expression of osiris genes in the midgut. 20E injection was performed as described in methods. (A–B) Expression of osiris genes during the indicated developmental stages as assayed by qRT-PCR. Osiris genes assayed here were up-regulated at the early molting stage (6 h after the initiation of molting). (C–J) 20E injection induced the expression of osiris genes in the midgut. All osiris genes were up-regulated at 24 h post 20E injection. The changes were not obvious at other time points except Osiris 9-4 at 15 h post 20E injection. (PPT 330 kb