Decomposition of thin titanium deuteride films: thermal desorption kinetics studies combined with microstructure analysis

The thermal evolution of deuterium from thin titanium films, prepared under UHV conditions and deuterated in situ at room temperature, has been studied by means of thermal desorption mass spectrometry (TDMS) and a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The observed Ti film thickness dependent morphology was found to play a crucial role in the titanium deuteride (TiDy) film formation and its decomposition at elevated temperatures. TDMS heating induced decomposition of fine-grained thin Ti films, of 10–20 nm thickness, proceeds at low temperature (maximum peak temperature Tm about 500 K) and its kinetics is dominated by a low energy desorption (ED = 0.61 eV) of deuterium from surface and subsurface areas of the Ti film. The origin of this process is discussed as an intermediate decomposition state towards recombinative desorption of molecular deuterium. The TiDy bulk phase decomposition becomes dominant in the kinetics of deuterium evolution from thicker TiDy films. The dominant TDMS peak at approx. Tm = 670 K, attributed to this process, is characterized by ED = 1.49 eV

Microencapsulated 3-Dimensional Sensor for the Measurement of Oxygen in Single Isolated Pancreatic Islets

Background: Oxygen consumption reflects multiple processes in pancreatic islets including mechanisms contributing to insulin secretion, oxidative stress and viability, providing an important readout in studies of islet function, islet viability and drug testing. Due to the scarcity, heterogeneity, and intrinsic kinetic properties of individual islets, it would be of great benefit to detect oxygen consumption by single islets. We present a novel method we have developed to image oxygen in single islets. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a microfluidics system, individual islets and a fluorescent oxygen-sensitive dye were encased within a thin alginate polymer layer. Insulin secretion by the encapsulated islets was normal. Fluorescent signal from the encased dye, detected using a standard inverted fluorescence microscope and digital camera, was stable and proportional to the amount of oxygen in the media. When integrated into a perifusion system, the sensing system detected changes in response to metabolic substrates, mitochondrial poisons, and induced-oscillations. Glucose responses averaged 30.167.1 % of the response to a metabolic inhibitor (cyanide), increases were observed in all cases (n = 6), and the system was able to resolve changes in oxygen consumption that had a period greater than 0.5 minutes. The sensing system operated similarly from 2–48 hours following encapsulation, and viability and function of the islets were not significantly affected by the encapsulation process

Structural and chemical characterisation of titanium deuteride films covered by nanoscale evaporated palladium layers

Thin titanium deuteride (TiDy) films, covered by an ultra-thin palladium layer, have been compared with the corresponding titanium and palladium films using a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The TiDy layers were prepared under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions by precisely controlled deuterium sorption at 298 K on a Ti film evaporated onto a Si(100) substrate. Both Ti and TiDy films were then covered in situ by a nanoscale Pd layer. It was found that a 10- to 12-nm-thick Pd layer protects the TiDy films efficiently against extensive air interaction. The morphology of both the surface and bulk Pd/TiDy (Ti) films have been observed using SEM and cross-sectional TEM analysis, respectively. A polycrystalline bulk morphology in both Ti and TiDy films accompanied by a fine-grained Pd surface was observed. High-magnification cross-sectional TEM images reveal the TiDy film to be plastically deformed leading to an increase in the roughness of the top Pd layer. Complex structures, including Moiré patterns, have been identified within the Pd/TiDy interface. The chemical nature of this interface has been analysed after partial sputtering of the Pd top layer using XPS. Besides TiDy and Pd, TiO and PdO were found to be the main chemical species in the interface region of the Pd/TiHy film. The XPS valence-band spectra of the Pd/TiDy interface reveal electronic features characteristic of a Pd–Ti bimetallic structure

Microstructural and chemical transformation of thin Ti/Pd and TiDy/Pd bi-later films induced by vacuum annealing

Using a combination of scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), we made a comparative study of the high-temperature annealing impact on thin titanium deuteride (TiD y ) films covered by an ultrathin Pd layer, and on Ti/Pd bilayer films. The bilayer films were prepared under ultrahigh vacuum conditions and were in situ annealed using the same annealing procedure. It was found that the surface and the bulk morphology of both films undergo different annealing-induced transformations, leading to an extensive intermixing between the Ti and Pd layers and the formation of a new PdTi2 bimetallic phase. Energy-filtered TEM imaging and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis, as well as XPS depth profiling all provided evidence of a different distribution of Pd and Ti in the annealed TiD y /Pd film compared with the annealed Ti/Pd film. Our results show that thermal decomposition of TiD y , as a consequence of annealing the TiD y /Pd film, modifies the intermixing process, thereby promoting Ti diffusion into the Pd-rich top layer of the TiD y film and thus providing a more likely path for the formation of the PdTi2 phase than in an annealed Ti/Pd fil

Evidence for involvement of GNB1L in autism

Structural variations in the chromosome 22q11.2 region mediated by nonallelic homologous recombination result in 22q11.2 deletion (del22q11.2) and 22q11.2 duplication (dup22q11.2) syndromes. The majority of del22q11.2 cases have facial and cardiac malformations, immunologic impairments, specific cognitive profile and increased risk for schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The phenotype of dup22q11.2 is frequently without physical features but includes the spectrum of neurocognitive abnormalities. Although there is substantial evidence that haploinsufficiency for TBX1 plays a role in the physical features of del22q11.2, it is not known which gene(s) in the critical 1.5 Mb region are responsible for the observed spectrum of behavioral phenotypes. We identified an individual with a balanced translocation 46,XY,t(1;22)(p36.1;q11.2) and a behavioral phenotype characterized by cognitive impairment, autism, and schizophrenia in the absence of congenital malformations. Using somatic cell hybrids and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) we mapped the chromosome-22 breakpoint within intron 7 of the GNB1L gene. Copy number evaluations and direct DNA sequencing of GNB1L in 271 schizophrenia and 513 autism cases revealed dup22q11.2 in two families with autism and private GNB1L missense variants in conserved residues in three families (P = 0.036). The identified missense variants affect residues in the WD40 repeat domains and are predicted to have deleterious effects on the protein. Prior studies provided evidence that GNB1L may have a role in schizophrenia. Our findings support involvement of GNB1L in ASDs as well. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Replication of CNTNAP2 association with nonword repetition and support for FOXP2 association with timed reading and motor activities in a dyslexia family sample

Two functionally related genes, FOXP2 and CNTNAP2, influence language abilities in families with rare syndromic and common nonsyndromic forms of impaired language, respectively. We investigated whether these genes are associated with component phenotypes of dyslexia and measures of sequential motor ability. Quantitative transmission disequilibrium testing (QTDT) and linear association modeling were used to evaluate associations with measures of phonological memory (nonword repetition, NWR), expressive language (sentence repetition), reading (real word reading efficiency, RWRE; word attack, WATT), and timed sequential motor activities (rapid alternating place of articulation, RAPA; finger succession in the dominant hand, FS-D) in 188 family trios with a child with dyslexia. Consistent with a prior study of language impairment, QTDT in dyslexia showed evidence of CNTNAP2 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association with NWR. For FOXP2, we provide the first evidence for SNP association with component phenotypes of dyslexia, specifically NWR and RWRE but not WATT. In addition, FOXP2 SNP associations with both RAPA and FS-D were observed. Our results confirm the role of CNTNAP2 in NWR in a dyslexia sample and motivate new questions about the effects of FOXP2 in neurodevelopmental disorders

TEM and SEM studies of microstructural transformations of thin iron films during annealing

High-temperature induced transformations of the bulk structure as well as the surface and bulk morphology of thin polycrystalline iron films have been investigated using a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The polycrystalline Fe films were evaporated onto a quartz substrate at 78 K under UHV conditions and then annealed in situ within a temperature range 330–1000 K. The morphology of both the surface and bulk Fe films have been observed ex situ after successive annealing steps of the Fe film using SEM and cross-sectional TEM analysis, respectively. An anisotropic polycrystalline bulk morphology accompanied by a fine-grained surface and the formation of microvoids was observed after heating the Fe film at 330 K. The iron films annealed at higher temperatures, exhibit large grain size surface morphology. Polycrystalline Fe film transformation occurred at an annealing temperature of 700–1000 K, resulting in the formation of a columnar microstructure of the bulk phase. The crystallites formed as a result of annealing at 1000 K revealed a monocrystalline structure characterised by low-index Fe bcc diffraction patterns

TEM and SEM studies of microstructural transformations of thin iron films during annealing

High-temperature induced transformations of the bulk structure as well as the surface and bulk morphology of thin polycrystalline iron films have been investigated using a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The polycrystalline Fe films were evaporated onto a quartz substrate at 78 K under UHV conditions and then annealed in situ within a temperature range 330–1000 K. The morphology of both the surface and bulk Fe films have been observed ex situ after successive annealing steps of the Fe film using SEM and cross-sectional TEM analysis, respectively. An anisotropic polycrystalline bulk morphology accompanied by a fine-grained surface and the formation of microvoids was observed after heating the Fe film at 330 K. The iron films annealed at higher temperatures, exhibit large grain size surface morphology. Polycrystalline Fe film transformation occurred at an annealing temperature of 700–1000 K, resulting in the formation of a columnar microstructure of the bulk phase. The crystallites formed as a result of annealing at 1000 K revealed a monocrystalline structure characterised by low-index Fe bcc diffraction patterns