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Nitrogen (N) doping engineering is considered a promising approach to achieve p-type conductivity of Ga2O3 films. However, the defect self-compensation effect has been a major obstacle in this field. In this work, we propose a straightforward and environmentally friendly strategy to obtain a doped surface on β-Ga2O3 films via nonthermal N plasma-based treatment. By substituting nitrogen with oxygen, acceptor impurity levels are formed near the valence band, and self-trapped exciton recombination occurs, thereby enhancing the luminescence effect related to acceptor defects. Meanwhile, although achieving stable p-type conduction with N dopant acceptors remains challenging, the surface conductive properties are enhanced by the defect compensation of oxygen vacancy (VO) donor defects. Therefore, detailed investigations into the surface defect compensation of N-doped Ga2O3 thin films are of great research potential for device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ga2O3, with its large band gap, is a promising material suitable for utilization in solar-blind photodetection. Sapphire with a higher lattice match with Ga2O3 was used as the substrate for epitaxial growth of Ga2O3. Here, the epitaxial layers of Ga2O3 were deposited by MOCVD on patterned sapphire substrates. The structure of epitaxial Ga2O3 layers on patterned substrates has been identified by X-ray diffractometry. To investigate the influence of the patterned substrates on the formation of epitaxial layers, thin Ga2O3 layers were grown on a flat sapphire substrate under the same conditions. Both types of samples were β-phase. However, no improvement in the layers' crystalline quality was discovered when utilizing patterned sapphire substrates. In addition, the performance of the obtained two types of Ga2O3 photodetectors was compared. The photoelectric properties, such as responsivity, response speed, and detection capability, were different in the case of flat samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-quality β-Ga2O3 film was grown on a (111) GaAs substrate using the metal organic chemical vapor deposition method. The band alignment of the β-Ga2O3/GaAs heterojunction interface was determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The energy-band structure of β-Ga2O3/GaAs was constructed based on the binding energies of Ga 3d and As 3d core levels as well as valence band maximum values. The valence band offset was determined to be 3.50 ± 0.05 eV. As a consequence, a type-ΙΙ heterojunction with a conduction band offset of 0.12 ± 0.05 eV was determined in the present study. The accurate determination of the band alignment of the β-Ga2O3/GaAs heterojunction provided useful information for the application in β-Ga2O3/GaAs-based devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ga2O3 has generated considerable interest as a wide bandgap semiconductor and is used for solar-blind deep ultraviolet photodetectors. Additionally, graphene serving as a transparent electrode material can improve device performance. However, due to defects at the contact interface between graphene and Ga2O3, existing devices based on graphene/Ga2O3 are liable to elevated dark currents. In this work, we constructed a graphene/β-Ga2O3/Ag asymmetric Schottky junction photodetector, which addresses this issue. Taking advantage of the asymmetric structure design to suppress dark current and the transparent graphene electrode increasing the carrier collection efficiency, the device achieved an outstanding responsivity of 44.09 A W−1, a high detectivity of 5.84 × 1012 Jones, a remarkable external quantum efficiency of 2.15 × 104%, and a fast response time of 99.60 ms/27.74 ms. More importantly, owing to reverse bias voltage on the high barrier side, it possesses a low dark current of 12.09 pA with a light-to-dark ratio of up to 104. All in all, the graphene/β-Ga2O3/Ag asymmetric Schottky junction photodetector has considerable potential as a deep ultraviolet detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important vegetable crop that plays a pivotal role in the world, especially given its potential to feed the world population and to act as the major staple food in many developing countries. Every year, significant crop loss is caused by viral diseases due to a lack of effective agrochemical treatments, since only transmission by insect vectors can be combated with the use of insecticides, and this has been an important factor hindering potato production. With the rapid development of molecular biology and plant genetic engineering technology, transgenic approaches and non-transgenic techniques (RNA interference and CRISPR-cas9) have been effectively employed to improve potato protection against devastating viruses. Moreover, the availability of viral sequences, potato genome sequences, and host immune mechanisms has remarkably facilitated potato genetic engineering. In this study, we summarize the progress of antiviral strategies applied in potato through engineering either virus-derived or plant-derived genes. These recent molecular insights into engineering approaches provide the necessary framework to develop viral resistance in potato in order to provide durable and broad-spectrum protection against important viral diseases of solanaceous crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 2-in. wafer-scale large-area β-Ga2O3 epitaxial films were fabricated on c-plane sapphire substrates via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscope, and photoelectric properties were carried out to disclose the material uniformity of large-scale β-Ga2O3 epitaxial films. Even with film thickness as thick as 1.5 μm, the grown β-Ga2O3 epitaxial films demonstrated high crystal quality with an average FWHM of 1.71° and a standard deviation (SD) of 0.035, smooth surface morphology with an average root-mean-square of 5.45 nm and a slight deviation of 0.09 nm, outstanding thickness uniformity with an average film thickness of 1.55 μm and SD value of only 28 nm. Furthermore, each β-Ga2O3 photodetector on epitaxial wafer expressed uniform stability of the photoelectric performance distribution. High material uniformity of our fabricated large-scale β-Ga2O3 epitaxial films lays a solid foundation for its future mass production of Ga2O3-based devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is a representative of ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors, with a band gap of about 4.9 eV. In addition to a large dielectric constant and excellent physical and chemical stability, Ga2O3 has a theoretical breakdown electric field strength of more than 8 MV cmâˆ'1, which is 27 times more than that of Si and about twice as large as that of SiC and GaN. It is guaranteed that Ga2O3 has irreplaceable applications in ultra-high-power (1â€"10 kW) electronic devices. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty of p-type doping of Ga2O3, the full Ga2O3-based bipolar devices face more difficulties, and the unipolar Ga2O3 power Schottky diodes are feasible, but substantial progress has been made in recent years. In this article, we review the advanced progress and important achievements of the state-of-the-art Ga2O3-based power Schottky barrier diodes, and provide staged guidance for the further development of Ga2O3 power devices. Multiple types of device architectures, including basic structure, edge terminal processing, field-plated, trench and heterojunction pâ€"n structure, will be discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteins of the alkylation B (AlkB) superfamily show RNA demethylase activity removing methyl adducts from N6‐methyladenosine (m6A). m6A is a reversible epigenetic mark of RNA that regulates human virus replication but has unclear roles in plant virus infection. We focused on Potyvirus—the largest genus of plant RNA viruses—and report here the identification of AlkB domains within P1 of endive necrotic mosaic virus (ENMV) and an additional virus of a putative novel species within Potyvirus. We show that Nicotiana benthamiana m6A levels are reduced by infection of plum pox virus (PPV) and potato virus Y (PVY). The two potyviruses lack AlkB and the results suggest a general involvement of RNA methylation in potyvirus infection and evolution. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing of virus‐infected samples showed that m6A peaks are enriched in plant transcript 3′ untranslated regions and in discrete internal and 3′ terminal regions of PPV and PVY genomes. Down‐regulation of N. benthamiana AlkB homologues of the plant‐specific ALKBH9 clade caused a significant decrease in PPV and PVY accumulation. In summary, our study provides evolutionary and experimental evidence that supports the m6A implication and the proviral roles of AlkB homologues in Potyvirus infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Safety and efficiency of ambulatory pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients is worthy of attention, since patients always have severe systemic diseases. The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of same-day cancellation of PPV for PDR between outpatients and inpatients and to analyze the causes of cancellations. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective review of consecutive PPV procedures for PDR from January 2019 to April 2021 at either the ambulatory or the inpatient surgery center in an academic tertiary referral center. Data on patient surgery plan, same-day surgical cancellation and follow-up were recorded. Differences in cancellation rate and reasons for cancellation (e.g. medical factors, patient reasons and administrative problems) between outpatients and inpatients were compared. Results: In total, 1810 consecutive PPV procedures of 1367 patients were identified; 1509 (83.4%) were managed as inpatient surgeries and 301 (16.6%) as outpatient surgeries. The total same-day cancellation rate was 5.2% for all patients. Although outpatients were younger (51 years vs 52 years, P < 0.001), had less proportion of hypertension (60.5% vs 74.0%), coronary artery disease (10.0% vs 18.8%), renal insufficiency (9.3% vs 18.0%) and cerebrovascular diseases (1.0% vs 11.4%) (all P < 0.001), had less proportion of patients with ASA III status (14.9% vs 27.4%, P < 0.001), and had higher proportion of regional anesthesia with MAC (19.9% vs 5.0%, P < 0.001), the cancellation proportion was significantly higher for outpatients than inpatients (12.3% vs 3.8%, P < 0.001). Overall, the most common reason for surgical cancellation was medical factors, occurring more frequently in outpatients than inpatients (91.9% vs 68.4%, P = 0.012). Conclusion: Same-day cancellation is higher in outpatient pars plana vitrectomy for proliferative diabetic retinopathy. To reduce ambulatory surgery cancellations, it is important to strengthen the monitoring of preoperative systemic comorbidities and adjust medication if necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A practical method for organic–inorganic hybrid heterojunction photodetector by spin-coating the cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) solution onto the β-gallium oxide (β-Ga2O3) film is available to realize the sensitive detection of ultraviolet light signals. We have carefully measured and calculated the optoelectronic performance of the prepared device. The device demonstrates excellent rectification characteristics under different light intensities, and the rectification ratio reaches 144.96 under 900 μW/cm2 at ±5 V. Benefiting from the construction of CoPc/Ga2O3 heterojunction, the device shows an extremely low dark current of 5.73 fA, a high detectivity of 1.92 × 1017 Jones, a responsivity of 18.4 mA/W, and a high light-to-dark current ratio of 3.76 × 106. In addition, the intrinsic physical mechanism of the device is investigated through the energy band diagram under different conditions. The device is equipped with the possibility to work under self-powered mode and has good stability in the air environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can the modulation effect of charge-carrier transfer be inherited from a single layer to its heterojunction structure? Certainly, the answer is yes. Herein, we experimentally verify that the photodetection performance modulation effect of oxygen vacancy (Vo) is transmitted from the ε-Ga2O3 layer to the PEDOT:PSS/ε-Ga2O3 (PGO) hybrid heterojunction. By adopting the annealed ε-Ga2O3 films, whose Vo concentrations are remolded by annealing ambients, the constructed PGO photodetectors (PDs) demonstrate regulable self-powered performance. As the Vo defects decrease, the photodetection properties are effectively enhanced with a high photo-to-dark current ratio of 2.37×107, an excellent on/off switching ratio of 6.45×105, fast rise/decay time of 121/72 ms, a large responsivity of 67.9 mA/W, superior detectivity of 9.2×1013 Jones, an outstanding external quantum efficiency of 33.2%, and a high rejection ratio (R250/R400) of 5.96×106 at 0 V in PGO-O2 PD. The better photoresponse is attributed to the less Vo defect concentration in the ε-Ga2O3 layer, which could favor the lower electron-trapping probability and a more efficient charge-carrier transfer. Considering the universality of Vo defects in oxide materials, the proposed regulation strategy of photoresponse will open the route of high self-powered performance for next-generation ultraviolet PDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel p–i–n self-powered solar-blind UV photodetector based on p-type spiro-MeOTAD (spiro), Ga2O3, and n-type Si is fabricated. The p-type spiro film is spin-coated on the surface of the Ga2O3 film deposited on a Si wafer via a metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system. Benefitting from the superior carrier-separation ability of the double built-in electric fields, the effective carrier transport of the novel vertical structure and the high solar-blind UV transmittance of the spiro film, the self-powered responsivity of the p–i–n-type photodetector based on spiro/Ga2O3/Si increases to 4.43 mA W−1 under UV light (λ = 254 nm), which is ∼54-fold that of the Ga2O3/Si photodetector (0.22 mA W−1). Meanwhile, the response speed (0.03/0.196 s) of the p–i–n device is also dramatically improved by introducing the spiro layer. The reported achievements of our work provide a new way to construct a high-sensitivity self-powered UV photodetector for photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By acting as the trapping centers during charge carrier transfer, oxygen vacancy (VO) plays a critical role in oxide photoelectric devices. Herein, a post-annealing method was introduced to perfect the photodetection performances of ε-Ga2O3 photodetectors (PDs) by improving the film quality and modulating the VO defect concentration. The native oxygen-deficient ε-Ga2O3 epitaxial films fabricated via metal–organic chemical vapor deposition become highly dense and VO-less after oxidation annealing, leading to an enhanced performance, while they become VO-rich after reduction annealing to depress the PD property. Compared with the pristine PD, the crucial parameters of the devices with a lower VO concentration have been improved by 1–6 magnitude with a high photo-to-dark current ratio of 1.06 × 108, a large responsivity of 1.368 A W−1, an excellent detectivity of 9.13 × 1014 Jones, a superior linear dynamic range of 176.7 dB and an outstanding external quantum efficiency of 666.5% and a record-high rejection ratio (R240/R400) of 1.80 × 107. As the VO defect is commonly ubiquitous in oxide materials, our investigation of regulating the VO concentrations in ε-Ga2O3 and then exerting influences on the PD capabilities will provide principles for designing high-performance photoelectric devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A β-Ga 2 O 3 /CuBiI 4 heterojunction deep-ultraviolet photodetector was constructed. • The fabricated device exhibited responsivity of 20.68 A/W and detectivity of 3.72 × 1015 Jones. • The detector could display self-powered operation. Herein, a β-Ga 2 O 3 /CuBiI 4 heterojunction deep-ultraviolet (DUV) photodetector was constructed based on metal-organic chemical vapor deposition grown β-Ga 2 O 3 film and spin-coated CuBiI 4 film. In which, we prepared the pure and well-crystallized CuBiI 4 film from environment-friendly materials under optimized experimental conditions. The fabricated device exhibited a large responsivity of 20.68 A/W, a high specific detectivity of 3.72 × 1015 Jones, a high photo-to-dark current ratio of 5.62 × 106, a low dark current of 0.385 pA, and an ultrahigh UV/visible rejection ratio (R 250 nm / R 400 nm) of 1.14 × 104 under 254 nm UV light illumination at 5 V. In all, the device can sensitively monitor a wide range of UV light (254 nm) intensities from 0.1 to 2000 μW/cm2. Moreover, the potential of the device operating under self-powered mode has been verified, and the intrinsic physical mechanism of the heterojunction photodetector was analyzed via energy-band alignment. Overall, this work would present a promising route to realize high-performance and cost-effective DUV photodetector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent modification in the mRNAs of many eukaryotic species. The abundance and effects of m6A are determined by dynamic interactions between its methyltransferases ("writers"), demethylases ("erasers"), and binding proteins ("readers"). It has been indicated that there is a strong correlation between m6A and virus infection in mammals. In the case of plant virus infection, it appears that m6A plays a dual role. On the one hand, m6A acts as a plant immune response induced by virus infection, inhibiting viral replication or translation through methylation of viral genome RNAs. On the other hand, m6A acts as part of an infection strategy employed by plant viruses to overcome the host immune system by interacting with m6A-related proteins. We proposed that antagonists of m6A-related proteins might be used to design new strategies for plant virus control in the future. In recent years, m6A RNA methylation has attracted broad interest and is becoming a hot research topic. It has been demonstrated that there is a strong association between m6A and viral infection in the human system. The life cycles of plant RNA viruses are often coordinated with the mechanisms of their RNA modification. Here, we reviewed recent advances in m6A methylation in plant viruses. It appears that m6A methylation plays a dual role during viral infection in plants. On the one hand, m6A methylation acts as an antiviral immune response induced by virus infection, which inhibits viral replication or translation through the methylation of viral genome RNAs. On the other hand, plant viruses could disrupt the m6A methylation through interacting with the key proteins of the m6A pathway to avoid modification. Those plant viruses containing ALKB domain are discussed as well. Based on this mechanism, we propose that new strategies for plant virus control could be designed with competitive antagonists of m6A-associated proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium wilt of potato is one of the most common diseases of potato in China, and is becoming a serious threat in potato production. It has been reported that osthole from Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson can inhibit plant pathogens. Here, we test the anti-fungal activity of C. monnieri osthole against Fusarium oxysporum in potatoes. The results showed that at a concentration of 5 mg/mL, osthole was able to obviously inhibit mycelial growth of F. oxysporum. We found that osthole caused changes of mycelial morphology, notably hyphal swelling and darkening. Osthole significantly reduced the spore germination of Fusarium by 57.40%. In addition, osthole also inhibited the growth of other pathogens such as Fusarium moniliforme J. Sheld, Thanatephorus cucumeris Donk, and Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissl, but not Alternaria solani Jonesetgrout and Valsa mali Miyabe and G. Yamada. Our results suggest that osthole has considerable potential as an agent for the prevention and treatment of potato Fusarium wilt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteins of the alkylation B (AlkB) superfamily show RNA demethylase activity removing methyl adducts from N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A). m 6 A is a reversible epigenetic mark of RNA that regulates human virus replication but has unclear roles in plant virus infection. We focused on Potyvirus-the largest genus of plant RNA viruses-and report here the identification of AlkB domains within P1 of endive necrotic mosaic virus (ENMV) and an additional virus of a putative novel species within Potyvirus. We show that Nicotiana benthamiana m 6 A levels are reduced by infection of plum pox virus (PPV) and potato virus Y (PVY). The two potyviruses lack AlkB and the results suggest a general involvement of RNA methylation in potyvirus infection and evolution. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing of virus-infected samples showed that m 6 A peaks are enriched in plant transcript 3' untranslated regions and in discrete internal and 3' terminal regions of PPV and PVY genomes. Down-regulation of N. benthamiana AlkB homologues of the plant-specific ALKBH9 clade caused a significant decrease in PPV and PVY accumulation. In summary, our study provides evolutionary and experimental evidence that supports the m 6 A implication and the proviral roles of AlkB homologues in Potyvirus infection., (© 2022 The Authors. Molecular Plant Pathology published by British Society for Plant Pathology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Solar blind ultraviolet (SBUV) self-powered photodetectors (PDs) have a great number of applications in civil and military exploration. Ga 2 O 3 is a prospective candidate for SBUV detection owing to its reasonable bandgap corresponding to the SBUV waveband. Nevertheless, the previously reported Ga 2 O 3 photovoltaic devices had low photoresponse performance and were still far from the demands of practical application. Herein, we propose an idea of using spiro-MeOTAD (spiro) as the SBUV transparent conductive layer to construct p-i-n PDs (p-spiro/Ga 2 O 3 /n-Si). With the aid of double built-in electric fields, the designed p-i-n PDs could operate without any external power source. Furtherly, the influence of spiro thickness on improving the photoelectric performance of devices is investigated in detail and the optimum device is achieved, translating to a peak responsivity of 192 mA/W upon a weak 254 nm light illumination of 2 μW/cm 2 at zero bias. In addition, the I - t curve of our PD shows binary response characteristics and a four-stage current response behavior under a small forward bias, and also, its underlying working mechanism is analyzed. In sum, this newly developed device presents great potential for booming the high energy-efficient optoelectronic devices in the short run.

Background: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) could trigger p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. Conversely phosphorylated p38 (p-p38) could induce the upregulation of TNF-alpha. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that chronic constrictive injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve could promote spinal cord release of TNF-alpha and produce allodynia via the p38 MAPK pathway., Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: 1) naïve control rats, 2) sham surgery rats, 3) CCI surgery rats without treatment, 4) CCI surgery rats with saline (0.9%) treatment, and 5) CCI surgery rats with the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 treatment. In treatment groups, saline or SB203580 (2 microg, twice a day) was given intrathecally starting 1 day before or 1 day or 7 days after CCI. All rats were killed at different times after surgery to examine p38 MAPK activity and TNF-alpha levels in the spinal cord by Western blot analysis or immunohistochemistry. Mechanical allodynia was tested by a series of von Frey hairs 3, 7, and 14 days after surgery., Results: p-p38 MAPK was significantly increased at 3, 7, and 14 days after CCI surgery compared with time-matched shams (P < 0.05). Peripheral nerve injury induced mechanical allodynia and enhanced spinal concentrations of TNF-alpha (P < 0.05). Pretreatment or early treatment with SB203580 inhibited p38 MAPK activity, resulting in reduction of TNF-alpha synthesis and attenuation of mechanical allodynia (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: p38 MAPK activation is one aspect of the signaling cascade that culminates in TNF-alpha synthesis and contributes to mechanical allodynia after peripheral nerve injury.