Direct-fed microbials (DFM) could serve as a potential alternative to the feeding of antibiotics in poultry production. In this study, the effects of providing a DFM were compared with the feeding of salinomycin on intestinal histomorphometrics, and microarchitecture was examined. Broiler chicks (n=18 per treatment; trials 1 and 2) were fed a standard starter diet (control), control+PrimaLac (DFM; 0.3% wt/wt), and control+salinomycin (SAL; 50 ppm) from hatch to 21d. The birds were euthanized on d 21, and the ileal, jejunal, cecal, and colon tissues were dissected. Samples were examined by light microscopy (jejunum and ileum; trial 1) and scanning electron microscopy (ileum, cecum, and colon; trial 2). Feeding of the DFM increased intestinal muscle thickness (P<0.05) up to 33% compared with the control treatment. The DFM group also had increased villus height and perimeter (P=0.009 and 0.003, respectively) in jejunum. Segmented filamentous-like bacteria were less numerous in DFM-treated chicks than in the control chicks. Very few segmented filamentous-like bacteria were found near other microbes in the ileum. The DFM chicks had a larger number of bacteria positioned over or near goblet cells and in intervilli spaces. Bacteria in the colon were observed to be attached primarily around and within the crypts. Mucous thickness was less, and the density of bacteria embedded in the mucous blanket appeared to be lower in DFM-treated animals than in the control in all intestinal segments. The birds fed SAL had fewer bacteria and enterocytes in the ileum than in the control-and DFM-treated birds, and they had thicker and fewer microvilli. Because gastrointestinal track colonization by the DFM organisms can prevent the attachment of pathogens to the epithelium, spatial relationships, in this study, demonstrate the functionality of DFM and probiotics in preventing disease. It also supports previous observations that the feeding of salinomycin may alter intestinal function.

Most chemical vapor deposition methods for transition metal dichalcogenides use an extremely small amount of precursor to render large single-crystal flakes, which usually causes low coverage of the materials on the substrate. In this study, a self-capping vapor-liquid-solid reaction is proposed to fabricate large-grain, continuous MoS 2 films. An intermediate liquid phase-Na 2 Mo 2 O 7 is formed through a eutectic reaction of MoO 3 and NaF, followed by being sulfurized into MoS 2 . The as-formed MoS 2 seeds function as a capping layer that reduces the nucleation density and promotes lateral growth. By tuning the driving force of the reaction, large mono/bilayer (1.1 mm/200 μm) flakes or full-coverage films (with a record-high average grain size of 450 μm) can be grown on centimeter-scale substrates. The field-effect transistors fabricated from the full-coverage films show high mobility (33 and 49 cm 2 V −1 s −1 for the mono and bilayer regions) and on/off ratio (1 ~ 5 × 10 8 ) across a 1.5 cm × 1.5 cm region.

Metrics & MoreArticle Recommendations * sı Supporting Information ABSTRACT: "Spin" has been recently reported as an important degree of electronic freedom to improve the performance of electrocatalysts and photocatalysts. This work demonstrates the manipulations of spin-polarized electrons in CsPbBr 3 halide perovskite nanoplates (NPLs) to boost the photocatalytic CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) efficiencies by doping manganese cations (Mn 2+ ) and applying an external magnetic field. Mn-doped CsPbBr 3 (Mn-CsPbBr 3 ) NPLs exhibit an outstanding photocatalytic CO 2 RR compared to pristine CsPbBr 3 NPLs due to creating spinpolarized electrons after Mn doping. Notably, the photocatalytic CO 2 RR of Mn-CsPbBr 3 NPLs is significantly enhanced by applying an external magnetic field. Mn-CsPbBr 3 NPLs exhibit 5.7 times improved performance of photocatalytic CO 2 RR under a magnetic field of 300 mT with a permanent magnet compared to pristine CsPbBr 3 NPLs. The corresponding mechanism is systematically investigated by magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy, ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory simulation. The origin of enhanced photocatalytic CO 2 RR efficiencies of Mn-CsPbBr 3 NPLs is due to the increased number of spin-polarized photoexcited carriers by synergistic doping of the magnetic elements and applying a magnetic field, resulting in prolonged carrier lifetime and suppressed charge recombination. Our result shows that manipulating spin-polarized electrons in photocatalytic semiconductors provides an effective strategy to boost photocatalytic CO 2 RR efficiencies.

A transparent barrier structure consisting of silicon oxide (SiOx)∕siliconnitride(SiNx) stacks was deposited on a polycarbonate substrate at 80°C by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Details of radio-frequency (rf) power effects on the SiOx and SiNx film properties in terms of etching rate, refractive index, internal stress, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) were investigated. It was found that the impermeability, flexibility, and optical property of the SiOx∕SiNx barrier films can be tailored by varying the rf power. A gradual decrease in the compressive internal stress of each stack film was designed to prevent the stress-induced cracks during the multilayer deposition process. The WVTR value of the optimum barrier structure ( SiNx + 6 pairs of SiOx∕SiNx ) can reduce to 3.12×10−6g∕normalm2∕day under a calcium test (100 days at 25°C , 40% relative humidity). After 5000 cyclic bending tests in a compressive mode, the WVTR value can keep below 3.54×10−5g∕normalm2∕day . The performance of the SiOx∕SiNx barrier stacks presented has high potential for future flexible electronics applications.

A multilayer barrier structure composed of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, and encapsulated parylene on a polycarbonate substrate has been investigated for flexible electronic applications. The organic buffer is commonly used as the smoothing, strengthening and defect‐decoupling layer. However, a lateral leakage problem was observed in the organic interlayer, and resulted in increased permeation and poor adhesion between organic and inorganic layers. It was found that an encapsulated, thermal‐treated parylene interlayer can be used to efficiently reduce the water vapor and oxygen permeation. After 75 d, the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) can reach 2.5 × 10−7 (g · m−2) d−1, as calculated by the calcium test. After being flexed for 5 000 times, the WVTR value almost keeps around 2.1 × 10−6 (g · m−2) d−1. The performance of the proposed multilayer barrier structure has a high potential for flexible solar cell and organic light‐emitting diode applications.magnified image