The development of Y Ba2Cu3Ox thin films using a fluorine-free sol–gel approach for coated conductors

Despite great success in the TFA methods of depositing Y Ba2Cu3Ox (YBCO) thin films for coated conductors, critical issues involved in removing BaCO3 have not entirely been settled. There could be other possible ways of dealing with carbon that remains in the film. We have recently developed a fluorine-free sol–gel synthesis with several important advantages including precursor solution stability, improved film density, and elimination of HF during processing. With this approach, high-quality YBCO films have been developed on single crystal substrates with the transport Jc s up to 106 A cm−2. In this study, the precursor solution stoichiometry was altered and its effects on superconducting properties were studied. The fluorine-free sol–gel-derived films on the LaAlO3 (LAO) substrate exhibited epitaxial growth with excellent in- and out-of-plane texture. Experimental details are reported on the sol–gel synthesis chemistry and XRD and TEM characterization of the YBCO thin films. Also discussed is the underlying formation mechanism of the YBCO phase during the synthesis.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/48992/2/sust4_12_011.pd

Chemotherapy-Response Monitoring of Breast Cancer Patients Using Quantitative Ultrasound-Based Intra-Tumour Heterogeneities

© 2017 The Author(s). Anti-cancer therapies including chemotherapy aim to induce tumour cell death. Cell death introduces alterations in cell morphology and tissue micro-structures that cause measurable changes in tissue echogenicity. This study investigated the effectiveness of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) parametric imaging to characterize intra-tumour heterogeneity and monitor the pathological response of breast cancer to chemotherapy in a large cohort of patients (n = 100). Results demonstrated that QUS imaging can non-invasively monitor pathological response and outcome of breast cancer patients to chemotherapy early following treatment initiation. Specifically, QUS biomarkers quantifying spatial heterogeneities in size, concentration and spacing of acoustic scatterers could predict treatment responses of patients with cross-validated accuracies of 82 ± 0.7%, 86 ± 0.7% and 85 ± 0.9% and areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.75 ± 0.1, 0.80 ± 0.1 and 0.89 ± 0.1 at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after the start of treatment, respectively. The patients classified as responders and non-responders using QUS biomarkers demonstrated significantly different survivals, in good agreement with clinical and pathological endpoints. The results form a basis for using early predictive information on survival-linked patient response to facilitate adapting standard anti-cancer treatments on an individual patient basis

All-Inorganic Colloidal Perovskite Quantum Dots: A New Class of Lasing Materials with Favorable Characteristics

I), which were very recently reported as a high effi ciency luminescent materials. The CsPbX 3 IPQDs adopted here were fabricated following a recipe slightly modifi ed from the literature (see details in Experimental Section). Here, we present a new class of lasing materials with outstanding optical gain signatures of combined advantages of both QDs and halide perovskites: the colloidal all-inorganic cesium lead halide perovskite QDs (IPQDs) (CsPbX 3 , X = Cl, Br, Adv. Mater. 2015

Effect of Broccoli Sprouts and Live Attenuated Influenza Virus on Peripheral Blood Natural Killer Cells: A Randomized, Double-Blind Study

Enhancing antiviral host defense responses through nutritional supplementation would be an attractive strategy in the fight against influenza. Using inoculation with live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) as an infection model, we have recently shown that ingestion of sulforaphane-containing broccoli sprout homogenates (BSH) reduces markers of viral load in the nose. To investigate the systemic effects of short-term BSH supplementation in the context of LAIV-inoculation, we examined peripheral blood immune cell populations in non-smoking subjects from this study, with a particular focus on NK cells. We carried out a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study measuring the effects of BSH (N = 13) or placebo (alfalfa sprout homogenate, ASH; N = 16) on peripheral blood mononuclear cell responses to a standard nasal vaccine dose of LAIV in healthy volunteers. Blood was drawn prior to (day-1) and post (day2, day21) LAIV inoculation and analyzed for neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages, T cells, NKT cells, and NK cells. In addition, NK cells were enriched, stimulated, and assessed for surface markers, intracellular markers, and cytotoxic potential by flow cytometry. Overall, LAIV significantly reduced NKT (day2 and day21) and T cell (day2) populations. LAIV decreased NK cell CD56 and CD158b expression, while significantly increasing CD16 expression and cytotoxic potential (on day2). BSH supplementation further increased LAIV-induced granzyme B production (day2) in NK cells compared to ASH and in the BSH group granzyme B levels appeared to be negatively associated with influenza RNA levels in nasal lavage fluid cells. We conclude that nasal influenza infection may induce complex changes in peripheral blood NK cell activation, and that BSH increases virus-induced peripheral blood NK cell granzyme B production, an effect that may be important for enhanced antiviral defense responses