Real-space imaging of confined infrared surface plasmon polaritons on doped semiconductors covered with phase-change materials.

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) describe the excitation of photons coupled with free charge carriers at the interface of metals (visible) or doped semiconductors (infrared). While SPPs in the mid-infrared spectral range have been demonstrated in 2D materials such as graphene, their short propagation length combined with weak confinement in bulk materials has prevented real-space imaging of those SPPs. Here, we demonstrate real-space imaging of propagating SPPs on the doped semiconductors CdO and InAs with tunable plasma frequencies in the infrared via scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy.

Proximity ferroelectricity in wurtzite heterostructures.

Proximity ferroelectricity is an interface-associated phenomenon in electric-field-driven polarization reversal in a non-ferroelectric polar material induced by one or more adjacent ferroelectric materials. Here we report proximity ferroelectricity in wurtzite ferroelectric heterostructures. In the present case, the non-ferroelectric layers are AlN and ZnO, whereas the ferroelectric layers are AlBN, AlScN and ZnMgO.

Nanoscale Ferroelectric Programming of van der Waals Heterostructures.

We demonstrate an approach to creating nanoscale potentials in van der Waals layers integrated with a buried programmable ferroelectric layer. Using ultra-low-voltage electron beam lithography (ULV-EBL), we can program the ferroelectric polarization in AlBN (AlBN) thin films, generating structures with sizes as small as 35 nm. We demonstrate the ferroelectric field effect with a graphene/vdW stack on AlBN by creating a p-n junction.

Electrode Elastic Modulus as the Dominant Factor in the Capping Effect in Ferroelectric Hafnium Zirconium Oxide Thin Films.

The discovery of ferroelectricity in hafnia based thin films has catalyzed significant research focused on understanding the ferroelectric property origins and means to increase stability of the ferroelectric phase. Prior studies have revealed that biaxial tensile stress via an electrode "capping effect" is a suspected ferroelectric phase stabilization mechanism. This effect is commonly reported to stem from a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) incongruency between the hafnia and top electrode.

Thermal Characterization of Ferroelectric AlBN for Nonvolatile Memory.

Boron (B)-substituted wurtzite AlN (AlBN) is a recently discovered wurtzite ferroelectric material that offers several advantages over ferroelectric HfZrO and PbZrTiO. Such benefits include a relatively low growth temperature as well as a thermally stable, and thickness-stable ferroelectric polarization; these factors are promising for the development of ferroelectric nonvolatile random-access memory (FeRAM) that are CMOS-compatible, scalable, and reliable for storing data in harsh environments. However, wurtzite ferroelectric materials may undergo exacerbated self-heating upon polarization switching relative to other ferroelectric materials; the larger energy loss is anticipated due to the higher coercive field and remanent polarization.

Nocturia and obstructive sleep apnea in spinal cord injured patients - a cohort study.

Purpose: To describe the prevalence of nocturia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a cohort of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients and to describe their association. Additionally, to assess clinical and urodynamic data explaining nocturia and to evaluate the effect of OSA management with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).

Method: Retrospective analysis of data from patients with SCI followed in a tertiary care rehabilitation center with a specialized sleep and neuro-urology units.

Screening Strategies for Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury in a Tertiary Care Rehabilitation Center.

Background: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is frequent in patients with spinal-cord injury (SCI). However, SDB is frequently underdiagnosed due to limited access to diagnostic testing and knowledge about the condition. Moreover, SDB heterogeneity (sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea or central sleep apnea and nocturnal alveolar hypoventilation) implies complex evaluation of both nocturnal respiratory effort and hypercapnia.

Chemical Environment and Structural Variations in High Entropy Oxide Thin Film Probed with Electron Microscopy.

We employ analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to correlate the structural and chemical environment variations within a stacked epitaxial thin film of the high entropy oxide (HEO) MgCoNiCuZnO (J14), with two layers grown at different substrate temperatures (500 and 200 °C) using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Electron diffraction and atomically resolved STEM imaging reveal the difference in out-of-plane lattice parameters in the stacked thin film, which is further quantified on a larger scale using four-dimensional STEM (4D-STEM). In the layer deposited at a lower temperature, electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) mapping indicates drastic changes in the oxidation states and bonding environment for Co ions, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) mapping detects more significant cation deficiency.

Predictive factors and screening strategy for obstructive sleep apnea in patients with advanced multiple sclerosis.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) screening questionnaires have been evaluated in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) but not yet validated in patients with advanced disease. The aim of this study is to identify OSA predictive factors in advanced MS and to discuss screening strategies.

Methods: Oximetry data from 125 patients were retrospectively derived from polysomnographic reports.

Melatonin secretion and sleep disorders in patients with spinal cord injuries.

Study Design: Prospective observational study.

Objectives: To evaluate melatonin secretion, daytime sleepiness and sleep disorders in patients with spinal cord injuries (SCI), and their association with lesion level.

Setting: Specialized neuro rehabilitation hospital in France METHODS: Prospective observational study of patients aged over 18 hospitalized in for spinal cord injury.

Disordered enthalpy-entropy descriptor for high-entropy ceramics discovery.

The need for improved functionalities in extreme environments is fuelling interest in high-entropy ceramics. Except for the computational discovery of high-entropy carbides, performed with the entropy-forming-ability descriptor, most innovation has been slowly driven by experimental means. Hence, advancement in the field needs more theoretical contributions.

Adherence to continuous positive airway pressure therapy in patients with spinal cord injury and obstructive sleep apnea: trajectories and predictors.

Purpose: To identify specific determinants of non-adherence or cessation of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in a population of patients with spinal cord injuries (SCI).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of data from patients with SCI who underwent a full night supervised polysomnography between 2015 and 2021 and presented with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and for whom CPAP was indicated. Adherence was studied at 1, 6, and 12 months.

Polariton design and modulation via van der Waals/doped semiconductor heterostructures.

Hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) can be supported in materials where the real parts of their permittivities along different directions are opposite in sign. HPhPs offer confinements of long-wavelength light to deeply subdiffractional scales, while the evanescent field allows for interactions with substrates, enabling the tuning of HPhPs by altering the underlying materials. Yet, conventionally used noble metal and dielectric substrates restrict the tunability of this approach.

Infrared Signatures for Phase Identification in Hafnium Oxide Thin Films.

Phase identification in HfO-based thin films is a prerequisite to understanding the mechanisms stabilizing the ferroelectric phase in these materials, which hold great promise in next-generation nonvolatile memory and computing technology. While grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction is commonly employed for this purpose, it has difficulty unambiguously differentiating between the ferroelectric phase and other metastable phases that may exist due to similarities in the -spacings, their low intensities, and the overlapping of reflections. Infrared signatures provide an alternative route.

Antimicrobial activity of Curcuma amada extract on Streptococcus mutans-An study.

Context: Dental caries is prevalent in spite of widespread use of mechanical and chemical plaque control methods. Streptococcus mutans is said to have a strong background in initiation of dental caries. Hence, exceptional methods are required which would be effective against dental caries.

Hierarchically Doped Plasmonic Nanocrystal Metamaterials.

Assembling plasmonic nanocrystals in regular superlattices can produce effective optical properties not found in homogeneous materials. However, the range of these metamaterial properties is limited when a single nanocrystal composition is selected for the constituent meta-atoms. Here, we show how continuously varying doping at two length scales, the atomic and nanocrystal scales, enables tuning of both the frequency and bandwidth of the collective plasmon resonance in nanocrystal-based metasurfaces, while these features are inextricably linked in single-component superlattices.

Atomic-scale polarization switching in wurtzite ferroelectrics.

Ferroelectric wurtzites have the potential to revolutionize modern microelectronics because they are easily integrated with multiple mainstream semiconductor platforms. However, the electric fields required to reverse their polarization direction and unlock electronic and optical functions need substantial reduction for operational compatibility with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) electronics. To understand this process, we observed and quantified real-time polarization switching of a representative ferroelectric wurtzite (AlBN) at the atomic scale with scanning transmission electron microscopy.

MP100 as an Alternative to Metaphylactic Antimicrobials in Swine: The Impact on Production Parameters and Meat Composition.

The metaphylactic use of antimicrobials in swine farms contributes to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which constitutes a major challenge for public health. Alternative strategies are required to eradicate their routine use. In a previous study, metaphylactic antimicrobials were replaced by the administration of MP100 to sows and piglets for two years.

Correction: Anomalously abrupt switching of wurtzite-structured ferroelectrics: simultaneous non-linear nucleation and growth model.

Correction for 'Anomalously abrupt switching of wurtzite-structured ferroelectrics: simultaneous non-linear nucleation and growth model' by Keisuke Yazawa , , 2023, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3MH00365E.

Anomalously abrupt switching of wurtzite-structured ferroelectrics: simultaneous non-linear nucleation and growth model.

Ferroelectric polarization switching is one common example of a process that occurs nucleation and growth, and understanding switching kinetics is crucial for applications such as ferroelectric memory. Here we describe and interpret anomalous switching dynamics in the wurtzite-structured nitride thin film ferroelectrics AlScN and AlBN using a general model that can be directly applied to other abrupt transitions that proceed nucleation and growth. When substantial growth and impingement occur while nucleation rate is increasing, such as in these wurtzite-structured ferroelectrics under high electric fields, abrupt polarization reversal leads to very large Avrami coefficients (, = 11), inspiring an extension of the KAI (Kolmogorov-Avrami-Ishibashi) model.

Suboptimal response to tumor necrosis factor antagonists in inflammatory bowel disease in Latin America: EXPLORE LATAM study.

Objective: Data on anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) treatment and suboptimal response (SOR) among patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in Latin America (LATAM) are scarce. This study evaluated the incidence and indicators of SOR to anti-TNF therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) from Argentina, Colombia and Mexico.

Patients And Methods: We performed retrospective analysis of data from LATAM patients of the EXPLORE study (NCT03090139) including adult patients with IBD who initiated anti-TNF therapy between March 2010 to March 2015.

Coupled Tamm Phonon and Plasmon Polaritons for Designer Planar Multiresonance Absorbers.

Wavelength-selective absorbers (WS-absorbers) are of interest for various applications, including chemical sensing and light sources. Lithography-free fabrication of WS-absorbers can be realized via Tamm plasmon polaritons (TPPs) supported by distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) on plasmonic materials. While multifrequency and nearly arbitrary spectra can be realized with TPPs via inverse design algorithms, demanding and thick DBRs are required for high quality-factors (Q-factors) and/or multiband TPP-absorbers, increasing the cost and reducing fabrication error tolerance.