The effect of pulsed laser annealing on the nickel silicide formation

The pulsed laser annealing (PLA) is used to assist nickel silicide transformation for Schottky barrier height reduction and tensile strain enhancement and the effect of different laser power are investigated. In this report, a two-step annealing process which combine the conventional rapid thermal annealing with pulsed laser annealing is proposed to achieve a smooth silicon-rich NiSi_x interfacial layer on (1 0 0) silicon. With optimized laser energy, a 0.2 eV Schottky barrier height (SBH) modulation is observed from Schottky diode electrical characterization. Furthermore, PLA provides sufficient effective temperature during silicidation which also lead to increased tensile stress of silicide film than the two-step RTA silicide is also investigated. The SBH modulation and tensile stress enhancement benefits of PLA silicidation are considered as an alternative to the conventional rapid thermal annealing for ultra-scaled devices performance enhancement.     

A novel synthetic route to Y2O3:Tb phosphors by bicontinuous cubic phase process

This study applies a novel approach to prepare the terbium-doped yttrium oxide phosphors (Y₂O₃:Tb³⁺) using the bicontinuous cubic phase (BCP) process. The experimental results show that the prepared precursor powder was amorphous yttrium hydroxide Y_1−xTb_x(OH)₃ with a spherical shape and primary size 30–50 nm. High crystallinity phosphors with body-centered cubic structures were obtained after heat treatment above 700 °C for 4 h. The primary size of the phosphors grew to 100–200 nm, and dense agglomerates with a size below 1 μm were formed during the calcination. The obtained Y₂O₃:Tb³⁺ phosphor had a strong green emitting at 542 nm. The optimum Tb³⁺ concentration was 1 mol% to obtain the highest PL intensity. This study indicates that the calcining temperature of 700 °C needed for high luminescence efficiency in this work is much lower than 1000 °C or above needed for the conventional solid-state method.     

Temperature and voltage sensings by mode‐mode interference in polarization‐maintaining optical fibers

Abstract

Two optic fiber sensing systems for temperature and voltage have been developed which utilize the mode‐mode interference of the two orthogonally polarized modes, HE^x _II and HE^y _II, in two commencal polarization‐maintaining fibers (bow‐tie and elliptical core fibers). A package of controlled programs in a Macintosh computer, which can record and process all related data automatically, is established for temperature sensing. The signal drifting problem in voltage sensings has been investigated, and the elimination of signal drifting is obtained by the phase tracking with direct current technology The agreement between the sensing results for temperature and dynamic voltage and those predicted by experimental principles is satisfactory, which confirms the validity of the developed sensing systems.     

Toxicological evaluation of transgenic rice flour with an Escherichia coli phytase gene appA by sub‐chronic feeding study in Wistar rats

BACKGROUND: Phytase is increasingly used as an ingredient in swine and poultry feeds to improve the bioavailability of phytate‐bound phosphorus and reduce the supplement of elemental phosphorus in feeds. Recently, a transgenic rise (TGR) with phytase appA gene from E. coli has been developed in Taiwan. To assure the food safety of this TGR, we performed a sub‐chronic whole‐food feeding study with Wistar rats. RESULTS: Weaned feeding male and female rats were divided into TGR and non‐TGR (NTGR) groups (20 rats per group), and fed diets containing 76.8% rice flour of TGR and NTGR, respectively. After 93 days feeding, although some hematological findings and blood chemistry values differed significantly between the TGR and NTGR groups, all values were still within the normal range for rats of this age and sex. No adverse effects of TGR were observed in terms of animal behavior, weight gain, or feed utilization rate. Necropsy at the end of the experiment indicated that neither pathological lesions nor histopathological abnormalities were present in organs such as liver, kidney, intestines and testes of rats in TGR and NTGR groups. In addition, no significant differences (P > 0.05) were observed in relative organ weights, hemograms and blood indices of rats between the two groups. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrated that in a 93‐day feeding study with Wistar rats a diet containing 76.8% of TGR flour having a phytase activity of about 1500 U kg^?1 body weight per day has no adverse effects. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Salvianolic acid B inhibits low‐density lipoprotein oxidation and neointimal hyperplasia in endothelium‐denuded hypercholesterolaemic rabbits

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis and restenosis are inflammatory responses involving free radicals and lipid peroxidation and may be prevented/cured by antioxidant‐mediated lipid peroxidation inhibition. Salvianolic acid (Sal B), a water‐soluble antioxidant obtained from a Chinese medicinal herb, is believed to have multiple preventive and therapeutic effects against human vascular diseases. In this study the in vitro and in vivo inhibitory effects of Sal B on oxidative stress were determined. RESULTS: In human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs), Sal B reduced oxidative stress, inhibited low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and reduced oxidised LDL‐induced cytotoxicity. Sal B inhibited Cu²⁺‐induced LDL oxidation in vitro (with a potency 16.3 times that of probucol) and attenuated HAEC‐mediated LDL oxidation as well as reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. In cholesterol‐fed New Zealand White rabbits (with probucol as positive control), Sal B intake reduced Cu²⁺‐induced LDL oxidation, lipid deposition in the thoracic aorta, intimal thickness of the aortic arch and thoracic aorta and neointimal formation in the abdominal aorta. CONCLUSION: The data obtained in this study suggest that Sal B protects HAECs from oxidative injury‐mediated cell death via inhibition of ROS production. The antioxidant activity of Sal B may help explain its efficacy in the treatment of vascular diseases. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

负载纳米TiO2溶胶功能性滤料的抗菌及分解甲醛性能的探讨

对负载自制纳米TiO2溶胶的非织造空气滤料的抗菌及分解甲醛的性能进行了研究。结果表明:负载纳米TiO2溶胶的滤料,对金黄色葡萄球菌和大肠杆菌有明显的抗菌效果;在有光照的条件下对甲醛有明显的分解作用,且负载量大,分解效率高。     

高压处理大豆分离蛋白水解物对羊肉糜凝胶特性及贮藏期氧化稳定性的影响

为研究添加不同高压处理(0.1、100、200、300 MPa)的大豆分离蛋白水解物(soy protein isolate hydrolysate, SPIH)对羊肉糜凝胶特性及贮藏期间氧化稳定性的影响,以未添加水解物的羊肉糜为对照组,测定了羊肉糜的质构、流变特性和微观结构,同时检测了在4℃贮藏8 d的过程中,羊肉糜的色差、酸价、硫代巴比妥酸值、羰基及总巯基含量。结果表明：与对照组相比,添加不同高压处理的SPIH的羊肉糜硬度、弹性及回复性显著提高(P<0.05);升温过程中,添加不同高压处理的SPIH的羊肉糜弹性模量G′均先下降后上升,且在整个升温过程中,SPIH处理压力为200 MPa时,羊肉糜的G′值始终最高;同一频率振荡下,添加200 MPa处理的SPIH的羊肉糜G′值也最高;扫描电镜结果显示,与对照组相比,添加水解物的羊肉糜结构更加致密均匀;随着贮藏时间的延长,添加不同压力下原料肉质量2.0%的SPIH能够抑制羊肉糜的b~*值(黄度)、酸价、硫代巴比妥酸值和羰基含量的上升以及L~*值(亮度)、a~*值(红度)和总巯基含量的下降,且200 MPa处理的SPIH抑制脂肪、蛋...     

超声波解冻对羊肉品质的影响

以20 ℃静水解冻组为对照,在相同水温条件下,研究不同超声波功率（120、180、240、300 W）对解冻 后羊肉品质的影响。结果表明：与对照组相比,超声波解冻组解冻时间显著缩短,解冻后羊肉红度值（a*）和嫩度 显著提高,180 W超声波解冻处理组羊肉黄度值（b*）最高（P＜0.05）;随着超声波功率的增加,解冻后羊肉的 汁液损失率显著增大（P＜0.05）,pH值和亮度值（L*）显著降低（P＜0.05）;随着超声波功率的增加,解冻后羊 肉菌落总数显著降低（P＜0.05）,其中180、240 W超声波处理组显著低于120 W处理组（P＜0.05）。综合分析可 知,超声波解冻与静水解冻相比显著提高了羊肉的解冻速率和羊肉新鲜度,且对羊肉的脂肪酸组成和相对含量没有 显著影响,但超声波解冻后羊肉肉色偏暗,解冻汁液流失率偏高。240 W超声波解冻对羊肉品质的负面影响最小, 因此选择240 W作为羊肉最佳解冻功率。     

Protective effect of Cordyceps militaris against high glucose-induced oxidative stress in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

The protective effect of Cordyceps militaris against high glucose-induced oxidative stress in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), as compared with Cordyceps sinensis, was examined. The cytotoxicity of HUVECs induced by 40 mM glucose was ameliorated by water extracts of C. militaris (CME) and water extracts of C. sinensis (CSE). CME and CSE inhibited the increase in ROS and NO in HUVECs induced by 40 mM high glucose. Moreover, CME increased the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, modulated the mitochondrial membrane potential and reduced the caspase-3 activity in high glucose-induced HUVECs. In addition, cordycepin, a component of CME and CSE, displayed protective effects against oxidative stress, which was partly responsible for the cytoprotective effects of CME and CSE against high glucose-induced oxidative stress in HUVECs. Overall, the obtained results show C. militaris helps preventing diabetic endothelial dysfunction and related complications.