INFLUENCE OF GAS MIXING ON THE LATERAL UNIFORMITY IN HORIZONTAL MOVPE REACTORS

Two novel gas mixing devices, which can be easily implemented in a horizonatal MOVPE reactor, have been designed in order to achieve better thickness and composition uniformity for both GaAs/AlGaAs and InGaAs/InP layerstructures. In this paper we have used periodic multilayer structures and single layers to investigate thickness respectively composition uniformity. Thickness variations smaller than 1.5% (standard deviation) over a whole 2 inch wafer can be achieved. The standard deviation of a 2 inch wafer covered with InGaAs is as good as 1.4 X 10(-4) for the mismatch and 2.9 nm for the PL peak wavelength

Inadequate glycemic control in patients receiving parenteral nutrition lowers survival: A retrospective observational trial

Background & aims: Parenteral Nutrition (PN) has been shown to cause glycemic deregulation, whether patients have type 2 diabetes (T2DM) or not, causing elevated mortality, despite intensive insulin treatment. Long-term effects, however, are unclear. Methods: A retrospective observational study was performed. 226 patients of the UZ Brussel, both T2DM patients and non-diabetics, who received PN in 2013 or 2014, were analyzed on the presence of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, as well as mortality in-hospital and after 6 months. Results: Here we show that T2DM patients displaying either hyper- or hypoglycemia, had a significant higher mortality. This was the case both in-hospital and after 6 months. Non-diabetics undergoing hyperglycemia had a similar fate, but not when these patients had hypoglycemic events. Conclusion: Whether PN-receiving patients had T2DM or were non-diabetic, hyperglycemia was related to mortality, both in-hospital and after 6 months, whereas hypoglycemia was only related to mortality in T2DM patients

Monolithic integration of a spot size transformer with a planar buried heterostructure InGaAsP/InP-laser using the shadow masked growth technique

We present a vertically tapered InGaAsP/InP planar buried heterostructure (PBB) laser for low loss coupling to single-mode fibers. To achieve the vertical tapering we make use of the shadow masked growth technique. Tapered lasers with beam divergences of 15° in both lateral and transverse directions were realized. In comparison with untapered lasers, the coupling losses to cleaved single-mode fibers could be reduced by 4.8 dB down to 5.8 dB

A20 inhibition of STAT1 expression in myeloid cells: a novel endogenous regulatory mechanism preventing development of enthesitis

Objectives: A20 is an important endogenous regulator of inflammation. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in A20 have been associated with various immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, and cell-specific deletion of A20 results in diverse inflammatory phenotypes. Our goal was to delineate the underlying mechanisms of joint inflammation in myeloid-specific A20-deficient mice (A20myelKO mice). Methods: Inflammation in A20myelKO mice was assessed in a time-dependent manner. Western blot analysis and quantitative PCR analysis were performed on bone marrow-derived macrophages from A20myelKO and littermate control mice to study the effect of A20 on STAT1/STAT3 expression and STAT1/STAT3-dependent gene transcription in myeloid cells. The in vivo role of Janus kinase-Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (JAK-STAT) signalling in the development of enthesitis in A20myelKO mice was assessed following administration of a JAK inhibitor versus placebo control. Results: Enthesitis was found to be an early inflammatory lesion in A20myelKO mice. A20 negatively modulated STAT1-dependent, but generally not STAT3-dependent gene transcription in myeloid cells by suppressing STAT1 but not STAT3 expression, both in unstimulated conditions and after interferon-γ or interleukin-6 stimulation. The increase in STAT1 gene transcription in the absence of A20 was shown to be JAK-STAT-dependent. Moreover, JAK inhibition in vivo resulted in significant reduction of enthesitis, both clinically and histopathologically. Conclusions: Our data reveal an important and novel interplay between myeloid cells and tissue resident cells at entheseal sites that is regulated by A20. In the absence of A20, STAT1 but not STAT3 expression is enhanced leading to STAT1-dependent inflammation. Therefore, A20 acts as a novel endogenous regulator of STAT1 that prevents onset of enthesitis