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- Carville, N. C., et al.
(author)
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Growth mechanism of photoreduced silver nanostructures on periodically proton exchanged lithium niobate : Time and concentration dependence
- 2013
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In: Journal of Applied Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-8979 .- 1089-7550. ; 113:18, s. 187212-1-187212-7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Photodeposition of metallic nanostructures onto ferroelectric surfaces, which have been chemically patterned using a proton exchange process, has recently been demonstrated. By varying the molar concentration of the AgNO 3 solution and the illumination time, one can determine the initial nucleation sites, control the rate of nucleation and the height of silver nanostructures formed, and study the mechanisms by which these processes occurs. The nanoparticles are found to deposit preferentially in the boundary between ferroelectric and proton exchanged regions, in an area proton exchanged via lateral diffusion under the masking layer used for chemical patterning, consistent with our previous results. Using a short illumination time (3 min), we are able to determine that the initial nucleation of the silver nanostructure, having a width of 0.17 ± 0.02 μm and a height of 1.61 ± 0.98 nm, occurs near the edge of the reactive ion etched area within this lateral diffusion region. Over longer illumination times (15 min), we find that the silver deposition has spread to a width of 1.29 ± 0.06 μm, extending across the entire lateral diffusion region. We report that at a high molar concentration of AgNO3 (10-2 M), the amount of silver deposition for 5 min UV illumination is greater (2.88 ± 0.58 nm) compared to that at low (10-4 M) concentrations (0.78 ± 0.35 nm), however, this is not the case for longer time periods. With increasing illumination time (15 min), experiments at 10-4 M had greater overall deposition, 6.90 ± 1.52 nm, compared to 4.50 ± 0.76 nm at 10 -2 M. For longer exposure times (30 min) at 10-2 M, the nanostructure height is 4.72 ± 0.59 nm, suggesting a saturation in the nanostructure height. The results are discussed in terms of the electric double layer that forms at the crystal surface. There is an order of magnitude difference between the Debye lengths for 10-2 and 10-4 M solutions, i.e., 3.04 vs. 30.40 nm, which suggests the Debye length plays a role in the availability of Ag ions at the surface.
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- Carville, N. Craig, et al.
(author)
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Photoreduction of SERS-Active Metallic Nanostructures on Chemically Patterned Ferroelectric Crystals
- 2012
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In: ACS Nano. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1936-0851 .- 1936-086X. ; 6:8, s. 7373-7380
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Photodeposition of metallic nanostructures onto ferroelectric surfaces is typically based on patterning local surface reactivity via electric field poling. Here, we demonstrate metal deposition onto substrates which have been chemically patterned via proton exchange (i.e., without polarization reversal). The chemical patterning provides the ability to tailor the electrostatic fields near the surface of lithium niobate crystals, and these engineered fields are used to fabricate metallic nanostructures. The effect of the proton exchange process on the piezoelectric and electrostatic properties of the surface is characterized using voltage-modulated atomic force microscopy techniques, which, combined with modeling of the electric fields at the surface of the crystal, reveal that the deposition occurs preferentially along the boundary between ferroelectric and proton-exchanged regions. The metallic nanostructures have been further functionalized with a target probe molecule, 4-aminothiophenol, from which surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) signal is detected, demonstrating the suitability of chemically patterned ferroelectrics as SERS-active templates.
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- Escott-Price, Valentina, et al.
(author)
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Gene-Wide Analysis Detects Two New Susceptibility Genes for Alzheimer's Disease
- 2014
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:6, s. e94661-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Alzheimer's disease is a common debilitating dementia with known heritability, for which 20 late onset susceptibility loci have been identified, but more remain to be discovered. This study sought to identify new susceptibility genes, using an alternative gene-wide analytical approach which tests for patterns of association within genes, in the powerful genome-wide association dataset of the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project Consortium, comprising over 7 m genotypes from 25,580 Alzheimer's cases and 48,466 controls. Principal Findings: In addition to earlier reported genes, we detected genome-wide significant loci on chromosomes 8 (TP53INP1, p = 1.4x10(-6)) and 14 (IGHV1-67 p = 7.9x10(-8)) which indexed novel susceptibility loci. Significance: The additional genes identified in this study, have an array of functions previously implicated in Alzheimer's disease, including aspects of energy metabolism, protein degradation and the immune system and add further weight to these pathways as potential therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease.
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- Nava, Porfirio, et al.
(author)
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IFN gamma-induced suppression of beta-catenin signaling : evidence for roles of Akt and 14.3.3 zeta
- 2014
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In: Molecular Biology of the Cell. - Bethesda, United States : American Society for Cell Biology. - 1059-1524 .- 1939-4586. ; 25:19, s. 2894-2904
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The proinflammatory cytokine interferon gamma (IFNgamma ) influences intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) homeostasis in a biphasic manner by acutely stimulating proliferation that is followed by sustained inhibition of proliferation despite continued mucosal injury. beta-Catenin activation has been classically associated with increased IEC proliferation. However, we observed that IFNgamma inhibits IEC proliferation despite sustained activation of Akt/beta-catenin signaling. Here we show that inhibition of Akt/beta-catenin-mediated cell proliferation by IFNgamma is associated with the formation of a protein complex containing phosphorylated beta-catenin 552 (pbeta-cat552) and 14.3.3zeta. Akt1 served as a bimodal switch that promotes or inhibits beta-catenin transactivation in response to IFNgamma stimulation. IFNgamma initially promotes beta-catenin transactivation through Akt-dependent C-terminal phosphorylation of beta-catenin to promote its association with 14.3.3zeta. Augmented beta-catenin transactivation leads to increased Akt1 protein levels, and active Akt1 accumulates in the nucleus, where it phosphorylates 14.3.3zeta to translocate 14.3.3zeta/beta-catenin from the nucleus, thereby inhibiting beta-catenin transactivation and IEC proliferation. These results outline a dual function of Akt1 that suppresses IEC proliferation during intestinal inflammation.
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