Enhanced Thermal Stability of Conductive Mercury Telluride Colloidal Quantum Dot Thin Films Using Atomic Layer Deposition.

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are valuable for their potential applications in optoelectronic devices. However, they are susceptible to thermal degradation during processing and while in use. Mitigating thermally induced sintering, which leads to absorption spectrum broadening and undesirable changes to thin film electrical properties, is necessary for the reliable design and manufacture of CQD-based optoelectronics.

National Public Health Dashboards: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of robust public health data systems and the potential utility of data dashboards for ensuring access to critical public health data for diverse groups of stakeholders and decision makers. As dashboards are becoming ubiquitous, it is imperative to consider how they may be best integrated with public health data systems and the decision-making routines of diverse audiences. However, additional progress on the continued development, improvement, and sustainability of these tools requires the integration and synthesis of a largely fragmented scholarship regarding the purpose, design principles and features, successful implementation, and decision-making supports provided by effective public health data dashboards across diverse users and applications.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus genetic variability a management and diagnostic dilemma.

As genetic analysis becomes less expensive, more comprehensive diagnostics such as whole genome sequencing (WGS) will become available to the veterinary practitioner. The WGS elucidates more about porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) beyond the traditional analysis of open reading frame (ORF) 5 Sanger sequencing. The veterinary practitioner will require a more complete understanding of the mechanics and consequences of PRRSV genetic variability to interpret the WGS results.

Designing an Indoor Air Quality Monitoring App for Asthma Management in Children: User-Centered Design Approach.

Background: Indoor air pollution is a well-known risk factor that triggers and exacerbates asthma, the most common pediatric chronic disease. Using a mobile app to monitor indoor air quality could be promising in engaging children in keeping their indoor air quality clean and healthy as secondary environmental prevention for asthma management. However, no app is available to allow children to monitor, assess, and improve their indoor air quality.

Count Me Out: Perceptions of Black Patients Who are on Dialysis but Who are Not on a Transplant Waitlist.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is characterized by racial inequity; Blacks are 3 times more likely to develop ESRD than Whites. Transplant is the preferred treatment option since transplanted patients experience better clinical outcomes. Racial inequities persist at each of the steps required for transplantation.

Direct Imprinting of Quasi-3D Nanophotonic Structures into Colloidal Quantum-Dot Devices.

Three-dimensional (3D) subwavelength nanostructures have emerged and triggered tremendous excitement because of their advantages over the two-dimensional (2D) counterparts in fields of plasmonics, photonic crystals, and metamaterials. However, the fabrication and integration of 3D nanophotonic structures with colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) faces several technological obstacles, as conventional lithographic and etching techniques may affect the surface chemistry of colloidal nanomaterials. Here, the direct fabrication of functional quasi-3D nanophotonic structures into CQD films is demonstrated by one-step imprinting with well-controlled precision in both vertical and lateral directions.

Towards Infrared Electronic Eyes: Flexible Colloidal Quantum Dot Photovoltaic Detectors Enhanced by Resonant Cavity.

Electronic eye cameras are receiving increasing interest due to their unique advantages such as wide field of view, low aberrations, and simple imaging optics compared to conventional planar focal plane arrays. However, the spectral sensing ranges of most electronic eyes are confined to the visible, which is limited by the energy gaps of the sensing materials and by fabrication obstacles. Here, a potential route leading to infrared electronic eyes is demonstrated by exploring flexible colloidal quantum dot (CQD) photovoltaic detectors.

Thermal Imaging with Plasmon Resonance Enhanced HgTe Colloidal Quantum Dot Photovoltaic Devices.

Thermal imaging in the midwave infrared plays an important role for numerous applications. The key functionality is imaging devices in the atmospheric window between 3 and 5 μm, where disturbance from fog, dust, and other atmospheric influence could be avoided. Here, we demonstrate sensitive thermal imaging with HgTe colloidal quantum dot (CQD) photovoltaic detectors by integrating the HgTe CQDs with plasmonic structures.

Fast and Sensitive Colloidal Quantum Dot Mid-Wave Infrared Photodetectors.

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) with a band gap tunable in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) region provide a cheap alternative to epitaxial commercial photodetectors such as HgCdTe (MCT) and InSb. Photoconductive HgTe CQD devices have demonstrated the potential of CQDs for MWIR photodetection but face limitations in speed and sensitivity. Recently, a proof-of-concept HgTe photovoltaic (PV) detector was realized, achieving background-limited infrared photodetection at cryogenic temperatures.

An Unbiased Genome-Wide View of the Mutation Rate and Spectrum of the Endosymbiotic Bacterium Teredinibacter turnerae.

Mutations contribute to genetic variation in all living systems. Thus, precise estimates of mutation rates and spectra across a diversity of organisms are required for a full comprehension of evolution. Here, a mutation-accumulation (MA) assay was carried out on the endosymbiotic bacterium Teredinibacter turnerae.

Estimating Seven Coefficients of Pairwise Relatedness Using Population-Genomic Data.

Population structure can be described by genotypic-correlation coefficients between groups of individuals, the most basic of which are the pairwise relatedness coefficients between any two individuals. There are nine pairwise relatedness coefficients in the most general model, and we show that these can be reduced to seven coefficients for biallelic loci. Although all nine coefficients can be estimated from pedigrees, six coefficients have been beyond empirical reach.

A New Reference Genome Assembly for the Microcrustacean .

Comparing genomes of closely related genotypes from populations with distinct demographic histories can help reveal the impact of effective population size on genome evolution. For this purpose, we present a high quality genome assembly of (PA42), and compare this with the first sequenced genome of this species (TCO), which was derived from an isolate from a population with >90% reduction in nucleotide diversity. PA42 has numerous similarities to TCO at the gene level, with an average amino acid sequence identity of 98.

Technetium incorporation in scheelite: insights from first-principles.

Atomistic investigations of crystalline scheelite, CaWO, and Tc-bearing scheelite, CaWO:Tc, have been carried out using density functional theory. The lattice constants, bulk modulus, and volume compression data of CaWO have been calculated and compared with experimental data, with a focus on predictive understanding of Tc incorporation in CaWO. Defect formation energies have been computed for several possible interstitial (I) and substitutional (S) sites of Tc in CaWO.

Evolution of the Insertion-Deletion Mutation Rate Across the Tree of Life.

Mutations are the ultimate source of variation used for evolutionary adaptation, while also being predominantly deleterious and a source of genetic disorders. Understanding the rate of insertion-deletion mutations (indels) is essential to understanding evolutionary processes, especially in coding regions, where such mutations can disrupt production of essential proteins. Using direct estimates of indel rates from 14 phylogenetically diverse eukaryotic and bacterial species, along with measures of standing variation in such species, we obtain results that imply an inverse relationship of mutation rate and effective population size.

High mutational rates of large-scale duplication and deletion in Daphnia pulex.

Knowledge of the genome-wide rate and spectrum of mutations is necessary to understand the origin of disease and the genetic variation driving all evolutionary processes. Here, we provide a genome-wide analysis of the rate and spectrum of mutations obtained in two Daphnia pulex genotypes via separate mutation-accumulation (MA) experiments. Unlike most MA studies that utilize haploid, homozygous, or self-fertilizing lines, D.

Hybridization and the Origin of Contagious Asexuality in Daphnia pulex.

Hybridization plays a potentially important role in the origin of obligate parthenogenesis (OP) in many organisms. However, it remains controversial whether hybridization directly triggers the transition from sexual reproduction to obligate asexuality or a hybrid genetic background enables asexual species to persist. Furthermore, we know little about the specific genetic elements from the divergent, yet still hybridizing lineages responsible for this transition and how these elements are further spread to create other OP lineages.

A Male-Specific Genetic Map of the Microcrustacean Daphnia pulex Based on Single-Sperm Whole-Genome Sequencing.

Genetic linkage maps are critical for assembling draft genomes to a meaningful chromosome level and for deciphering the genomic underpinnings of biological traits. The estimates of recombination rates derived from genetic maps also play an important role in understanding multiple aspects of genomic evolution such as nucleotide substitution patterns and accumulation of deleterious mutations. In this study, we developed a high-throughput experimental approach that combines fluorescence-activated cell sorting, whole-genome amplification, and short-read sequencing to construct a genetic map using single-sperm cells.

Background Mutational Features of the Radiation-Resistant Bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans.

Deinococcus bacteria are extremely resistant to radiation, oxidation, and desiccation. Resilience to these factors has been suggested to be due to enhanced damage prevention and repair mechanisms, as well as highly efficient antioxidant protection systems. Here, using mutation-accumulation experiments, we find that the GC-rich Deinococcus radiodurans has an overall background genomic mutation rate similar to that of E.

Asymmetric Context-Dependent Mutation Patterns Revealed through Mutation-Accumulation Experiments.

Despite the general assumption that site-specific mutation rates are independent of the local sequence context, a growing body of evidence suggests otherwise. To further examine context-dependent patterns of mutation, we amassed 5,645 spontaneous mutations in wild- type (WT) and mismatch-repair deficient (MMR(-)) mutation-accumulation (MA) lines of the gram-positive model organism Bacillus subtilis. We then analyzed>7,500 spontaneous base-substitution mutations across B.

Mutation rate, spectrum, topology, and context-dependency in the DNA mismatch repair-deficient Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC948.

High levels of genetic diversity exist among natural isolates of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens, and are especially elevated around the replication terminus of the genome, where strain-specific genes are found. In an effort to understand the role of genetic variation in the evolution of Pseudomonas, we analyzed 31,106 base substitutions from 45 mutation accumulation lines of P. fluorescens ATCC948, naturally deficient for mismatch repair, yielding a base-substitution mutation rate of 2.

Self-organized platinum nanoparticles on freestanding graphene.

Freestanding graphene membranes were successfully functionalized with platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed a homogeneous distribution of single-crystal Pt NPs that tend to exhibit a preferred orientation. Unexpectedly, the NPs were also found to be partially exposed to the vacuum with the top Pt surface raised above the graphene substrate, as deduced from atomic-scale scanning tunneling microscopy images and detailed molecular dynamics simulations.

Polynucleobacter necessarius, a model for genome reduction in both free-living and symbiotic bacteria.

We present the complete genomic sequence of the essential symbiont Polynucleobacter necessarius (Betaproteobacteria), which is a valuable case study for several reasons. First, it is hosted by a ciliated protist, Euplotes; bacterial symbionts of ciliates are still poorly known because of a lack of extensive molecular data. Second, the single species P.

Population-genomic insights into the evolutionary origin and fate of obligately asexual Daphnia pulex.

Despite much theoretical work, the molecular-genetic causes and evolutionary consequences of asexuality remain largely undetermined. Asexual animal species are rare, evolutionarily short-lived, and thought to suffer mutational meltdown as a result of lack of recombination. Whole-genome analysis of 11 sexual and 11 asexual genotypes of Daphnia pulex indicates that current asexual lineages are in fact very young, exhibit no signs of purifying selection against accumulating mutations, and have extremely high rates of gene conversion and deletion.