Growth and Interlayer Engineering of 2D Layered Semiconductors for Future Electronics.

Layered materials that do not form a covalent bond in a vertical direction can be prepared in a few atoms to one atom thickness without dangling bonds. This distinctive characteristic of limiting thickness around the sub-nanometer level allowed scientists to explore various physical phenomena in the quantum realm. In addition to the contribution to fundamental science, various applications were proposed.

Switchable, Tunable, and Directable Exciton Funneling in Periodically Wrinkled WS.

The extreme elastic strain of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides provides an ideal platform to achieve efficient exciton funneling via local strain modulation; however, studies conducted thus far have focused on the use of substrates with fixed strain profiles. We prepared 1L-WS on a flexible substrate such that the formation of topographic wrinkles could be switched on or off, and the depth or the direction of the wrinkle could be modified by external strain, thereby providing full control of the periodic undulation of the band gap profile of 1L-WS in the range 0-57 meV. Nanoscale photoluminescence (PL) imaging unambiguously evinced that the photoexcited excitons of 1L-WS were accumulated at the top regions of the wrinkles with less band gap than the valley region.

Measurement of Quantum Yields of Monolayer TMDs Using Dye-Dispersed PMMA Thin Films.

In general, the quantum yields (QYs) of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (1L-TMDs) are low, typically less than 1% in their pristine state, significantly limiting their photonic applications. Many methods have been reported to increase the QYs of 1L-TMDs; however, the technical difficulties involved in the reliable estimation of these QYs have prevented the general assessment of these methods. Herein, we demonstrate the estimation of the QYs of 1L-TMDs using a poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) thin film embedded with rhodamine 6G (R6G) as a reference specimen for measuring the QYs of 1L-TMDs.

Factors Associated with Indeterminate and False Negative Results of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube Test in Active Tuberculosis.

Background: The sensitivities and specificities of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) vary among different population studies, and the data on the routine use of IGRAs are limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) test in the diagnosis of active tuberculosis.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study, enrolling 77 patients with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), at a secondary care teaching hospital in Seoul.

Identification of CD23 as a functional receptor for the proinflammatory cytokine AIMP1/p43.

Aminoacyl-tRNA-synthetase-interacting multifunctional protein 1 (AIMP1/p43) can be secreted to trigger proinflammatory molecules while it is predominantly bound to a cytoplasmic macromolecular protein complex that contains several different aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Although its activities as a secreted signaling factor have been well characterized, the functional receptor for its proinflammatory activity has not yet identified. In this study, we have identified the receptor molecule for AIMP1 that mediates the secretion of TNF-α from THP-1 monocytic cells and primary human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).

Secreted human glycyl-tRNA synthetase implicated in defense against ERK-activated tumorigenesis.

Although adaptive systems of immunity against tumor initiation and destruction are well investigated, less understood is the role, if any, of endogenous factors that have conventional functions. Here we show that glycyl-tRNA synthetase (GRS), an essential component of the translation apparatus, circulates in serum and can be secreted from macrophages in response to Fas ligand that is released from tumor cells. Through cadherin (CDH)6 (K-cadherin), GRS bound to different ERK-activated tumor cells, and released phosphatase 2A (PP2A) from CDH6.