Solution-Route Inkjet Fabrication of CeO Thin Films with Tunable Microstructure.

We report the fabrication and characterization of solution-route CeO thin films with a tunable porosity and microstructure. Films were deposited by means of inkjet printing technique using 0.2 M, 0.

Design and tailoring of inks for inkjet patterning of metal oxides.

Inkjet printing has become a promising, efficient, inexpensive, scalable technique for materials deposition, mask-less and digital patterning in many device applications. Meanwhile, the ink preparation remains a challenge especially for printing functional oxide materials. Based on the principles of inkjet printing (especially relevant for piezoelectric drop-on-demand inkjet printer) and the process of the conversion of liquid ink into solid thin films of oxide materials, we present two approaches to the design and tailoring of inks: (i) oxide particle suspensions (e.

Basal cell carcinoma invasion depth determined with 30 and 75 MHz high-frequency ultrasound and histopathology - a comparative study.

Aim: To compare the depth spread of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) measured by histological examination and high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) imaging with 30-MHz and 75-MHz probes.

Materials And Methods: HFUS skin imaging was used to examine 27 BCCs. A specialized high-resolution digital ultrasound imaging system DUB (TPM GmbH, Germany) with 75-MHz and 30-MHz probes was used.

Ultrasonographic features of superficial and nodular basal cell carcinoma.

Aim: To describe the ultrasonographic findings of surface and nodular basal cell skin cancer (BCC) using high frequency ultrasonography.

Materials And Methods: We examined 60 primary BCCs in different locations with the High Frequency Ultrasound (HFU) system DUB Skin Scanner using 75 MHz and 30 MHz probes. Epidermis, dermis, and depth of tumors spread in the region of interest (ROI) were measured.

Understanding the magnetic interaction between intrinsic defects and impurity ions in room-temperature ferromagnetic Mg1-xFexO thin films.

Understanding the nature and characteristics of the intrinsic defects and impurities in the dielectric barrier separating the ferromagnetic electrodes in a magnetic tunneling junction is of great importance for understanding the often observed 'barrier-breakdown' therein. In this connection, we present herein systematic experimental (SQUID and synchrotron-radiation-based x-ray absorption spectroscopy) and computational studies on the electronic and magnetic properties of Mg1-xFexO thin films. Our studies reveal: (i) defect aggregates comprised of basic and trimer units (Fe impurity coupled to 1 or 2 Mg vacancies) and (ii) existence of two competing magnetic orders, defect- and dopant-induced, with spin densities aligning anti-parallel if the trimer is present in the oxide matrix.

Disorder-induced room temperature ferromagnetism in glassy chromites.

We report an unusual robust ferromagnetic order above room temperature upon amorphization of perovskite [YCrO3] in pulsed laser deposited thin films. This is contrary to the usual expected formation of a spin glass magnetic state in the resulting disordered structure. To understand the underlying physics of this phenomenon, we combine advanced spectroscopic techniques and first-principles calculations.

Magnetism of Amorphous and Nano-Crystallized Dc-Sputter-Deposited MgO Thin Films.

We report a systematic study of room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) in pristine MgO thin films in their amorphous and nano-crystalline states. The as deposited dc-sputtered films of pristine MgO on Si substrates using a metallic Mg target in an O₂ containing working gas atmosphere of (N₂ + O₂) are found to be X-ray amorphous. All these films obtained with oxygen partial pressure (P₂) ~10% to 80% while maintaining the same total pressure of the working gas are found to be ferromagnetic at room temperature.

Particle size and magnetic properties dependence on growth temperature for rapid mixed co-precipitated magnetite nanoparticles.

Magnetite nanoparticles have been prepared by co-precipitation using a custom-designed jet mixer to achieve rapid mixing (RM) of reactants in a timescale of milliseconds. The quick and stable nucleation obtained allows control of the particle size and size distribution via a more defined growth process. Nanoparticles of different sizes were prepared by controlling the processing temperature in the first few seconds post-mixing.

Pattern shape control for heat treatment purification of electron-beam-induced deposition of gold from the Me2Au(acac) precursor.

Gold structures can be created in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) from the Me(2)Au(acac) precursor by direct writing with the electron beam. The as-deposited purity is usually poor, and a common purification approach is a post-annealing step that indeed is effective but also induces a volume reduction because of carbon loss and an undesirable reconfiguration of the gold structure, resulting in the loss of the original shape. We studied the shape change as a result of such purification, and to minimize this effect, the application of a tantalum and chromium buffer layer was investigated.

Ordered coalescence of nanocrystals: a path to strong macroporous nanoceramics.

A versatile approach for integrating two apparently conflicting physical properties, high porosity and high mechanical strength, in polycrystalline bulks is established and demonstrated for the case of alumina ceramics. Macroporous alumina nanoceramics are synthesized by stimulating coalescence-mediated necking, which enables the formation of strong crystallographically coherent necks between adjacent grains. The work places a general emphasis on manipulating crystal growth on the nanoscale and on preparing highly porous polycrystalline bulk ceramics with improved mechanical rigidity.

Intermediate filament-like proteins in bacteria and a cytoskeletal function in Streptomyces.

Actin and tubulin cytoskeletons are conserved and widespread in bacteria. A strikingly intermediate filament (IF)-like cytoskeleton, composed of crescentin, is also present in Caulobacter crescentus and determines its specific cell shape. However, the broader significance of this finding remained obscure, because crescentin appeared to be unique to Caulobacter.

Roles of curli, cellulose and BapA in Salmonella biofilm morphology studied by atomic force microscopy.

Background: Curli, cellulose and the cell surface protein BapA are matrix components in Salmonella biofilms. In this study we have investigated the roles of these components for the morphology of bacteria grown as colonies on agar plates and within a biofilm on submerged mica surfaces by applying atomic force microscopy (AFM) and light microscopy.

Results: AFM imaging was performed on colonies of Salmonella Typhimurium grown on agar plates for 24 h and on biofilms grown for 4, 8, 16 or 24 h on mica slides submerged in standing cultures.

Maghemite nanocrystal impregnation by hydrophobic surface modification of mesoporous silica.

Here, we report the design of a hybrid inorganic/organic mesoporous material through simultaneous pore engineering and hydrophobic surface modification of the intramesochannels to improve the uptake of superparamagnetic maghemite nanocrystals via impregnation techniques. The mesoporous material of the SBA-15 type was functionalized in situ with thiol organo-siloxane groups. Restricting the addition of the thiol organo-siloxane to 2 mol % yielded an inorganic/organic hybrid material characterized by large pores and a well-ordered hexagonal p6mm mesophase.