No abstract

This study examined the ethnic difference in the association between increased serum ferritin (SF) (>300 microg/l) and acute inflammation (AI) (C-reactive protein > or = 1.0 mg/dl) between black and white males aged > or = 20 years. Using data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), we determined the risk for having elevated SF in black males (n=164) and white males (n=325) with AI present as well as black males (n=1731) and white males (n=2877) with AI absent. Black subjects with AI present were 1.71 times (95% CI 1.18-2.49), and 1.87 times (95% CI 1.46-2.40) more likely to have increased SF than AI absent blacks and AI present whites, respectively. Furthermore, with AI present, every increment of C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, serum albumin, lymphocyte count and platelet count was associated with higher odds of having elevations in SF in blacks than whites. Regardless of AI status, blacks were more likely to have elevations in SF than whites, and the prevalence of elevated SF was significantly higher in blacks than whites. This finding suggested that black males may respond to inflammation with a more aggressive rise in SF compared to white males. Future research is needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Heterocyclic silanes containing Si-N or Si-S bonds in the ring undergo a ring opening reaction with -OH groups at the surface of porous Si nanostructures to generate -SH or -NH functional surfaces, grafted via O-Si bonds. The reaction is substantially faster (0.5-2 h at 25 °C) and more efficient than hydrolytic condensation of trialkoxysilanes on similar hydroxy-terminated surfaces, and the reaction retains the open pore structure and photoluminescence of the quantum-confined silicon nanostructures. The chemistry is sufficiently mild to allow trapping of the test protein lysozyme, which retains its enzymatic activity upon release from the modified porous nanostructure.

No abstract

Accelerating interest in silicon nitride thin film material system continues in both academic and industrial communities due to its highly desirable physical, chemical, and electrical properties and the potential to enable new device technologies. As considered here, the silicon nitride material system encompasses both non-hydrogenated (SiNx) and hydrogenated (SiNx:H) silicon nitride, as well as silicon nitride-rich films, defined as SiNx with C inclusion, in both non-hydrogenated (SiNx(C)) and hydrogenated (SiNx:H(C)) forms. Due to the extremely high level of interest in these materials, this article is intended as a follow-up to the authors’ earlier publication [A. E. Kaloyeros, F. A. Jové, J. Goff, B. Arkles, Silicon nitride and silicon nitride-rich thin film technologies: trends in deposition techniques and related applications, ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol., 6, 691 (2017)] that summarized silicon nitride research and development (R&D) trends through the end of 2016. In this survey, emphasis is placed on cutting-edge achievements and innovations from 2017 through 2019 in Si and N source chemistries, vapor phase growth processes, film properties, and emerging applications, particularly in heterodevice areas including sensors, biointerfaces and photonics.