Porous nitride semiconductors reviewed

Porous nitride semiconductors are a fast-developing area of study, which open up a wide range of new properties and applications, including strain free optical reflectors, chemical sensors and as a pathway to device lift-off. This article reviews the current progress in porous nitrides formed through electrochemical and photoelectrochemical methods. Using a simple electrochemical cell, pores are formed by injecting holes into the surface layer in order to oxidise the material into a soluble form and releasing nitrogen gas. The process is controlled principally by the electric field that drives the injection of holes and hence the applied potential and doping density are the key parameters for controlling pore morphology, along with how and whether illumination is used. We describe the mechanisms responsible for this process in detail and outline the trends for changing pore size and pore shape. For example, larger applied potential creates a larger electric field and hence larger pores. These methods have been used to produce a wide variety of different structures. We present a layered porous structure created by the modulation of the applied potential. Alternatively, layered structures can be produced by growing alternate doped and non-intentionally doped layers. Electrochemical etching can then create pores only in the doped layers, as they are conductive. This process can be performed by etching laterally through access trenches that expose the doped material or through the etching of dislocations to create nanopipes that allow subsurface porosity to form. This process requires no prior processing steps. We combine this method with patterning of surface protective layers to influence where the resulting pores grow. Based on these various fabrication processes, significant progress has been made towards applications of porous GaN across optoelectronics, sensing and for improving material quality.The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the EPSRC under grant numbers: EP/M010589/1, EP/L015455/1, and EP/R511675/1

Women's views on screening for Type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes: a systematic review, qualitative synthesis and recommendations for increasing uptake.

AIM: Many women do not attend recommended glucose testing following a pregnancy affected by gestational diabetes (GDM). We aimed to synthesize the literature regarding the views and experiences of women with a history of GDM on postpartum glucose testing, focusing on barriers and facilitators to attendance. METHODS: We systematically identified qualitative studies that examine women's experiences following GDM relating to glucose testing (diabetes screening) or experience of interventions to promote uptake of testing. We conducted a thematic synthesis to develop descriptive and then analytical themes, then developed recommendations to increase uptake based on the findings. We evaluated the quality of each study and the confidence that we had in the recommendations using published checklists. RESULTS: We included 16 articles after screening 23 160 citations and 129 full texts. We identified four themes of influences relating to the healthcare system and personal factors that affected both ability and motivation to attend: relationship with health care, logistics of appointments and tests, family-related practicalities and concern about diabetes. We developed 10 recommendations addressing diabetes risk information and education, and changes to healthcare systems to promote increased attendance at screening in this population, most with high or moderate confidence. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified a need to improve women's understanding about Type 2 diabetes and GDM, and to adjust healthcare provision during and after pregnancy to decrease barriers and increase motivation for testing. Encouraging higher uptake by incorporating these recommendations into practice will enable earlier management of diabetes and improve long-term outcomes.R.D. is funded by a PhD studentship from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (SPCR; SPCR-S-S102). This paper presents independent research funded by the NIHR SPCR. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the NHS or the Department of Health. R.W. is funded by an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship. S.G. is supported by the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12015/4). S.G. is an NIHR Senior Investigator. The University of Cambridge has received salary support in respect of S.G. from the NHS in the East of England through the Clinical Academic Reserve. J.U-S. is funded by a Cancer Research UK Cancer Prevention Fellowship (C55650/A21464)

Perspective: Vitamin D deficiency and COVID‐19 severity – plausibly linked by latitude, ethnicity, impacts on cytokines, ACE2 and thrombosis

Background SARS‐CoV‐2 coronavirus infection ranges from asymptomatic through to fatal COVID‐19 characterized by a ‘cytokine storm’ and lung failure. Vitamin D deficiency has been postulated as a determinant of severity. Objectives To review the evidence relevant to vitamin D and COVID‐19. Methods Narrative review. Results Regression modelling shows that more northerly countries in the Northern Hemisphere are currently (May 2020) showing relatively high COVID‐19 mortality, with an estimated 4.4% increase in mortality for each 1 degree latitude north of 28 degrees North (P = 0.031) after adjustment for age of population. This supports a role for ultraviolet B acting via vitamin D synthesis. Factors associated with worse COVID‐19 prognosis include old age, ethnicity, male sex, obesity, diabetes and hypertension and these also associate with deficiency of vitamin D or its response. Vitamin D deficiency is also linked to severity of childhood respiratory illness. Experimentally, vitamin D increases the ratio of angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to ACE, thus increasing angiotensin II hydrolysis and reducing subsequent inflammatory cytokine response to pathogens and lung injury. Conclusions Substantial evidence supports a link between vitamin D deficiency and COVID‐19 severity but it is all indirect. Community‐based placebo‐controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation may be difficult. Further evidence could come from study of COVID‐19 outcomes in large cohorts with information on prescribing data for vitamin D supplementation or assay of serum unbound 25(OH) vitamin D levels. Meanwhile, vitamin D supplementation should be strongly advised for people likely to be deficient

Structural characterization of porous GaN distributed Bragg reflectors using x-ray diffraction

Porous GaN distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) provide strain-free, high-reflectivity structures with a wide range of applications across nitride optoelectronics. Structural characterization of porous DBRs is currently predominantly achieved by cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which is a destructive process that produces local data and has accuracy limited to around 3% by instrument calibration uncertainty. Here, we show that high-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD) offers an alternative, nondestructive method for characterizing porous nitride structures. XRD scans of porous GaN DBRs show that despite the constant lattice parameter across the DBR layers, characteristic satellite peaks still arise, which are due to the interference between x-rays reflected from the porous and nonporous layers. By comparing the intensities and positions of the satellite peaks through diffraction patterns simulated from a kinematic model, the structural properties of the porous GaN DBRs can be analyzed. Using our method, we have measured a series of DBRs with stop bands from the blue wavelength region to the IR and compared their structural values with those from SEM data. Our results show that the XRD method offers improvements in the accuracy of determining layer thickness, although uncertainty for the value of porosity remains high. To verify the results gained from the XRD and SEM analysis, we modeled the optical reflectivity using the structural values of both methods. We found that the XRD method offered a better fit to the optical data. XRD, therefore, offers accurate, nondestructive characterization of porous DBR structures based on macroscale measurements and is suitable for full wafer analysis.</jats:p

Reliability of environmental DNA surveys to detect pond occupancy by newts at a national scale

The distribution assessment and monitoring of species is key to reliable environmental impact assessments and conservation interventions. Considerable effort is directed towards survey and monitoring of great crested newts (Triturus cristatus) in England. Surveys are increasingly undertaken using indirect methodologies, such as environmental DNA (eDNA). We used a large data set to estimate national pond occupancy rate, as well as false negative and false positive error rates, for commercial eDNA protocols. Additionally, we explored a range of habitat, landscape and climatic variables as predictors of pond occupancy. In England, 20% of ponds were estimated to be occupied by great crested newts. Pond sample collection error rates were estimated as 5.2% false negative and 1.5% false positive. Laboratory error indicated a negligible false negative rate when 12 qPCR replicates were used. Laboratory false positive error was estimated at 2% per qPCR replicate and is therefore exaggerated by high levels of laboratory replication. Including simple habitat suitability variables into the model revealed the importance of fish, plants and shading as predictors of newt presence. However, variables traditionally considered as important for newt presence may need more precise and consistent measurement if they are to be employed as reliable predictors in modelling exercises

A qualitative exploration of mental health services provided in community pharmacies.

The burden of mental health problems continues to grow worldwide. Community pharmacists', as part of the primary care team, optimise care for people living with mental illness. This study aims to examine the factors that support or hinder the delivery of mental health services delivered in Australian community pharmacies and proposes ideas for improvement. A qualitative study was conducted comprising focus groups with community pharmacists and pharmacy staff across metropolitan, regional, and rural areas of New South Wales, Australia. Data were collected in eight focus groups between December 2020 and June 2021. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Thirty-three community pharmacists and pharmacy staff participated in an initial round of focus groups. Eleven community pharmacists and pharmacy staff participated in a second round of focus groups. Twenty-four factors that enable or hinder the delivery of mental health services in community pharmacy were identified. Participant's perception of a lack of recognition and integration of community pharmacy within primary care were identified as major barriers, in addition to consumers' stigma and lack of awareness regarding service offering. Suggestions for improvement to mental health care delivery in community pharmacy included standardised practice through the use of protocols, remuneration and public awareness. A framework detailing the factors moderating pharmacists, pharmacy staff and consumers' empowerment in mental health care delivery in community pharmacy is proposed. This study has highlighted that policy and funding support for mental health services is needed that complement and expand integrated models, promote access to services led by or are conducted in collaboration with pharmacists and recognise the professional contribution and competencies of community pharmacists in mental health care. The framework proposed may be a step to strengthening mental health support delivered in community pharmacies

Dislocations as channels for the fabrication of sub-surface porous GaN by electrochemical etching

Porosification of nitride semiconductors provides a new paradigm for advanced engineering of the properties of optoelectronic materials. Electrochemical etching creates porosity in doped layers whilst leaving undoped layers undamaged, allowing the realisation of complex three-dimensional porous nanostructures, potentially offering a wide range of functionalities, such as in distributed Bragg reflectors. Porous/non-porous multilayers can be formed by etching whole, as-grown wafers uniformly in one simple process, without any additional processing steps. The etch penetrates from the top down, through the undoped layers, leaving them almost untouched. Here, atomic-resolution electron microscopy is used to show that the etchant accesses the doped layers via nanometre-scale channels that form at dislocation cores and transport the etchant and etch products to and from the doped layer respectively. Results on AlGaN and non-polar GaN multilayers indicate the same mechanism is operating, suggesting this approach may be applicable in a range of materials

An extracellular transglutaminase is required for apple pollen tube growth

An extracellular form of the calcium-dependent protein-crosslinking enzyme TGase (transglutaminase) was demonstrated to be involved in the apical growth of Malus domestica pollen tube. Apple pollen TGase and its substrates were co-localized within aggregates on the pollen tube surface, as determined by indirect immunofluorescence staining and the in situ cross-linking of fluorescently labelled substrates. TGase-specific inhibitors and an anti-TGase monoclonal antibody blocked pollen tube growth, whereas incorporation of a recombinant fluorescent mammalian TGase substrate (histidine-tagged green fluorescent protein:His6– Xpr–GFP) into the growing tube wall enhanced tube length and germination, consistent with a role of TGase as a modulator of cell wall building and strengthening. The secreted pollen TGase catalysed the cross-linking of both PAs (polyamines) into proteins (released by the pollen tube) and His6-Xpr-GFP into endogenous or exogenously added substrates. A similar distribution of TGase activitywas observed in planta on pollen tubes germinating inside the style, consistent with a possible additional role for TGase in the interaction between the pollen tube and the style during fertilization