Fabrication and photoluminescent characteristics of ZnO/Mg0.2Zn0.8O coaxial nanorod single quantum well structures

The authors report on fabrication and photoluminescent (PL) properties of ZnO/Mg0.2Zn0.8O coaxial nanorod quantum structures with various quantum well and barrier layer thicknesses. Employing catalyst-free metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy, coaxial nanorod single quantum well structures were fabricated by the alternate heteroepitaxial growth of ZnO and Mg0.2Zn0.8O layers over the entire surfaces of the ZnO nanorods with fine thickness controls of the layers. The quantum confinement effect of carriers in coaxial nanorod quantum structures depends on the Mg0.2Zn0.8O quantum barrier layer thickness as well as the thickness of the ZnO quantum well layer. The temperature-dependent PL characteristics of the coaxial nanorod quantum structures are also discussed.This work was financially supported under the National Creative Research Initiative Project by the KOSEF

Orientation-dependent x-ray absorption fine structure of ZnO nanorods

The local structure of two samples of vertically well-aligned ZnO nanorods with average diameters of 13 and 37 nm were studied using orientation-dependent x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) at the Zn K edge. The aligned ZnO nanorod samples were fabricated on sapphire (0001) substrates with a catalyst-free metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy method. The XAFS measurements showed that both nanorod samples have a well-ordered wurtzite structure and that no vacancy was observed at either site of zinc or oxygen atoms. However, we found that in both samples the lattice constants of a and b were shrunken by similar to0.04 Angstrom while c was elongated by similar to0.1 Angstrom, compared with those of their bulk counterparts. Furthermore, there was a substantial amount of disorder in the bond length of the only Zn-O pairs located near the ab plane. This may suggest that the terminating atoms at the boundaries of the nanorods are oxygen atoms. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics

Enhanced field emission properties from well-aligned zinc oxide nanoneedles grown on the Au/Ti/n-Si substrate

The authors investigated the field emission from vertically well-aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoneedles grown on the Au/Ti/n-Si (100) substrate using metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The turn-on field of ZnO nanoneedles was about 0.85 V/mu m at the current density of 0.1 mu A/cm(2), and the emission current density of 1 mA/cm(2) was achieved at the applied electric field of 5.0 V/mu m. The low turn-on field of the ZnO nanoneedles was attributed to very sharp tip morphology, and the high emission current density was mainly caused by the formation of the stable Ohmic contact between the ZnO nanoneedles and Au film.This work was supported by the SRC program of Center for Nanotubes and Nanosructured Composites of MOST/KOSEF, by the National R&D Project for Nano Science and Technology, and by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy of Korea through a Components and Materials Technology Development project (No.0401-DD2-0162)

Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors for Nosocomial Candidemia in Medical Intensive Care Units: Experience in a Single Hospital in Korea for 6.6 Years

The aim of this study was to determine candidemia incidence among patients in a medical intensive-care unit (MICU) and the associated mortality rate and to identify risk factors associated with candidemia. We retrospectively performed a 1:3 matched case-control study of MICU patients with candidemia. Controls were matched for sex, age, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score. Candidemia incidence was 9.1 per 1,000 admissions. The most common pathogen was Candida albicans. Crude mortality was 96% among candidemia patients and 52% among controls (P<0.001). Mortality differed significantly between the groups according to Kaplan-Meier survival analysis (P=0.024). Multivariate analysis identified the following independent risk factors for candidemia: central venous catheterization (odds ratio [OR] = 3.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.2-9.0), previous steroid therapy (OR=4.7, 95% CI=1.8-12.1), blood transfusion during the same admission period (OR=6.3, 95% CI=2.4-16.7), and hepatic failure upon MICU admission (OR=6.9, 95% CI=1.7-28.4). In conclusion, we identify an additional independent risk factor for candidemia, the presence of hepatic failure on MICU admission. Therefore, increased awareness of risk factors, including hepatic failure, is necessary for the management of candidemia

Crystal structure of peroxiredoxin 3 from Vibrio vulnificus

Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are ubiquitous cysteine-based peroxidase enzymes. Recently, a new type of Prx, VvPrx3, was identified in the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio vulnificus as being important for survival in macrophages. It employs only one catalytic cysteine residue to decompose peroxides. Here, crystal structures of VvPrx3 representing its reduced and oxidized states have been determined, together with an H2O2-bound structure, at high resolution. The crystal structure representing the reduced Prx3 showed a typical dimeric interface, called the A-type interface. However, VvPrx3 forms an oligomeric interface mediated by a disulfide bond between two catalytic cysteine residues from two adjacent dimers, which differs from the doughnut-like oligomers that appear in most Prxs. Subsequent biochemical studies showed that this disulfide bond was induced by treatment with nitric oxide (NO) as well as with peroxides. Consistently, NO treatment induced expression of the prx3 gene in V. vulnificus, and VvPrx3 was crucial for the survival of bacteria in the presence of NO. Taken together, the function and mechanism of VvPrx3 in scavenging peroxides and NO stress via oligomerization are proposed. These findings contribute to the understanding of the diverse functions of Prxs during pathogenic processes at the molecular level

Self-assembled arrays of zinc oxide nanoparticles from monolayer films of diblock copolymer micelles

A hexagonal array of optically active ZnO nanoparticles was synthesized in situ on the solid substrate by utilizing a single-layered film of diblock copolymer micelles as a nanostructured template

Nanophotonic switch using ZnO nanorod double-quantum-well structures

The authors report on time-resolved near-field spectroscopy of ZnO/ZnMgO nanorod double-quantum-well structures (DQWs) for a nanometer-scale photonic device. They observed nutation of the population between the resonantly coupled exciton states of DQWs. Furthermore, they demonstrated switching dynamics by controlling the exciton excitation in the dipole-inactive state via an optical near field. The results of time-resolved near-field spectroscopy of isolated DQWs described here are a promising step toward designing a nanometer-scale photonic switch and related devices.The work at POSTECH was supported by the National Creative Research Initiative Project, Korea and AOARD 04-49 (Quotation No. FA5209-040T0254)