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[Purpose/Significance] With the further development of the integration of culture and tourism in libraries, the social benefits of the cultural resources of libraries will be created, the bright spots of culture and tourism in libraries will be explored, and the characteristic reading space will be enriched, promoting the transformation and upgrading of smart libraries, and social forces to actively participate in more activities. Some preliminary results have been achieved. In the new era, libraries have been given the request and expectation to provide services for the further innovation and development in the field of culture and tourism. [Method/Process] Based on the relevant research on "The integration of culture and tourism" in China in the past two years, most of them focus on a service mode and a single activity case, and seldom from the perspective of a library's IP construction practice to summarize the development path and strategy research. Based on the earlier culture research, this paper focuses on the practice of a library's IP construction, adding the product value and activity brand influence of the library, and creating the exclusive path of the library, from the aspects of IP personification, library IP story, IP topic event marketing, travel IP service efficiency, digital IP integration, Internet celebrity IP card pulling local consumption, cross-border cooperation to activate IP culture, and practice and operation of brand IP. [Results/Conclusions] Through the library IP construction strategy, point-to-point combination, the cultural expression of the library reflects the library value of the integration of IP-enabled culture and tourism. From the position and cultural goal of the literary brigade embedded in the beginning of the IP planning of the library, the evaluation standard of the literary brigade activities at different stages, the relevance of the literary brigade of the IP application, and the team of personnel running the activities of the literary brigade of the IP, all of which need professional library organization construction and link intervention, but the library IP construction can integrate the development of culture and tourism, which is a new business area of the library. This paper mainly discusses the significance of IP construction and practical case level, but each path has not yet further reflected the impact of IP to the attractiveness of tourism evaluation mechanism. New opportunity creates new value, and the key point of a library's IP construction is not only the rational expression of cultural travel attributes, but also the emotional habits of cultural travel activities. Further research is needed to realize the value of cultural IP traffic.

Histone demethylase JMJD2D (also known as KDM4D) can specifically demethylate H3K9me2/3 to activate its target gene expression. Our previous study has demonstrated that JMJD2D can protect intestine from dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis by activating Hedgehog signaling; however, its involvement in host defense against enteric attaching and effacing bacterial infection remains unclear. The present study was aimed to investigate the role of JMJD2D in host defense against enteric bacteria and its underlying mechanisms. The enteric pathogen Citrobacter rodentium (C. rodentium) model was used to mimic clinical colonic infection. The responses of wild-type and JMJD2D-/- mice to oral infection of C. rodentium were investigated. Bone marrow chimeric mice were infected with C. rodentium. JMJD2D expression was knocked down in CMT93 cells by using small hairpin RNAs, and Western blot and real-time PCR assays were performed in these cells. The relationship between JMJD2D and STAT3 was studied by co-immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation. JMJD2D was significantly up-regulated in colonic epithelial cells of mice in response to Citrobacter rodentium infection. JMJD2D-/- mice displayed an impaired clearance of C. rodentium, more body weight loss, and more severe colonic tissue pathology compared with wild-type mice. JMJD2D-/- mice exhibited an impaired expression of IL-17F in the colonic epithelial cells, which restricts C. rodentium infection by inducing the expression of antimicrobial peptides. Accordingly, JMJD2D-/- mice showed a decreased expression of β-defensin-1, β-defensin-3, and β-defensin-4 in the colonic epithelial cells. Mechanistically, JMJD2D activated STAT3 signaling by inducing STAT3 phosphorylation and cooperated with STAT3 to induce IL-17F expression by interacting with STAT3 and been recruited to the IL-17F promoter to demethylate H3K9me3. Our study demonstrates that JMJD2D contributes to host defense against enteric bacteria through up-regulating IL-17F to induce β-defensin expression. Author summary: Our study aimed to unravel the role of JMJD2D, a histone demethylase also known as KDM4D, in the host's defense against enteric bacterial infections and explore the underlying mechanisms. While we had previously demonstrated JMJD2D's protective effect in DSS-induced colitis by activating Hedgehog signaling, its involvement in defending against enteric attaching and effacing bacterial infections remained unexplored. To address this, we employed a Citrobacter rodentium (C. rodentium) infection model to mimic colonic infections in a clinical context. In response to C. rodentium infection, there was a notable increase in JMJD2D expression within the colonic epithelial cells of mice. Our investigation compared the responses of wild-type mice with those lacking JMJD2D (JMJD2D-/-) following oral C. rodentium infection. Notably, JMJD2D-/- mice exhibited impaired C. rodentium clearance, greater body weight loss, and more severe colonic tissue damage compared to their wild-type counterparts. Subsequent analysis revealed that JMJD2D deficiency resulted in reduced IL-17F expression in colonic epithelial cells. IL-17F is a known regulator that restricts C. rodentium infection by promoting the expression of antimicrobial peptides. Consequently, JMJD2D-/- mice showed diminished expression of critical antimicrobial peptides, including β-defensin-1, β-defensin-3, and β-defensin-4, in their colonic epithelial cells. Mechanistically, we discovered that JMJD2D played a pivotal role in activating STAT3 signaling by enhancing STAT3 phosphorylation. Moreover, JMJD2D collaborated with STAT3 to induce IL-17F expression. This cooperation involved JMJD2D physically interacting with STAT3 and binding to the IL-17F promoter, where it demethylated H3K9me3. In summary, our research reveals that JMJD2D contributes significantly to the host's defense against enteric bacterial infections by up-regulating IL-17F, which in turn induces the expression of antimicrobial peptides such as β-defensins. Our findings provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms governing host defense against enteric bacterial infections, emphasizing the potential therapeutic relevance of targeting JMJD2D in such contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practicality of non-contact detection of explosive vapors has always faced challenges in miniaturization, sensitivity, and stability. A distributed-feedback (DFB) grating coated with a widely available polyfluorene film has been reported to show improved sensitivity but by the use of high-power pulses from large volume equipment. Here, our study introduces a promising portable design of a DFB sensor that can be pumped by a continuous wave (CW) laser diode to achieve the resonant enhancement effect of fluorescence, and the pump power can be as low as a few milliwatts but still high sensitivity and stability for trace explosive vapor detection can be generated. Moreover, both COMSOL simulations and experiments were conducted to study the influence of the sensor structure on the resonant enhancement and sensing performance. The results evidence that the explosive vapor quenching efficiency of the DFB grating sensor is obviously affected by the grating groove depth and the polyfluorene film thickness, and the highest quenching efficiency can reach 98.3% at 60 s when the average thickness of the polyfluorene film is 20 nm and the grating groove depth is 200 nm. The sensitivity and stability of DFB grating sensors were greatly improved compared with those of the conventional planar substrate sensors, and the signal-to-noise ratio of detection was improved by one order of magnitude. The reusable corrosion-resistant quartz grating, longer luminescence lifetime and low pump-power laser diode will greatly cut the cost of the DFB grating sensor, improve the integration of a detector, and make its application in portable chemical sensor products possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs algebraic transformation to describe complex social network learning (SNL) behaviors under continuous expected payoff. Three distinct algorithms are then introduced that factor in uncertainty and heterogeneity. We find that individuals' strategies tend to converge through SNL. We then construct a framework for studying the convergence process in the principal–agent relationship by applying our SNL algorithms to distinct scenarios. Our results show that network topology plays a significant role in changes in the payoffs and the convergence speed of individuals' strategies. We also evaluate the impacts of uncertainty, heterogeneity, agents' output efficiency and risk aversion, and individual's centrality on the effectiveness of SNL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acrylamide (AA) is an important product of the Maillard reaction. Studies have demonstrated that AA caused oxidative stress damage in liver, which in turn triggered an inflammatory response, and the activation of NOD-like receptor protein-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome played a key factor in regulating inflammation. Therefore, we hypothesized NLRP3 inflammasome activation was involved in AA-induced inflammatory response. AA induced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction, accompanied by the MAPK pathway activation, which resulted in NLRP3 inflammasome formation, and eventually increased IL-1β and IL-18 release. The activation of the MAPK pathway was inhibited when using ROS scavenger (NAC). And when MAPK selective inhibitors were used, KCs viability was increased though AA-treated. Meanwhile the NLRP3 inflammasome activation was inhibited, which decreased the release of the cellular inflammatory secretion factors IL-1β and IL-18. Overall, the activation of ROS-MAPK-NLRP3-IL-1β signalling axis induced by AA plays an important role in the process of inflammation. Signaling pathways involved in inflammation induced by AA. After AA stimulated KCs, a large amount of ROS were released. ROS activated MAPK signaling pathway to promote the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. Activation of NLRP3 signaling activated Caspase-1, resulting in the maturation of IL-1β and IL-18. The activation of NLRP3 inflammasome was inhibited and the levels of cytoinflammatory factor IL-1β and IL-18 were decreased when using MAPK selective inhibitors.

Ion bombardment (IB) is a promising nanofabrication tool for self-organized nanostructures. When ions bombard a nominally flat solid surface, self-organized nanoripples can be induced on the irradiated target surface, which are called intrinsic nanoripples of the target material. The degree of ordering of nanoripples is an outstanding issue to be overcome, similar to other self-organization methods. In this study, the IB-induced nanoripples on bilayer systems with enhanced quality are revisited from the perspective of guided self-organization. First, power spectral density (PSD) entropy is introduced to evaluate the degree of ordering of the irradiated nanoripples, which is calculated based on the PSD curve of an atomic force microscopy image (i.e., the Fourier transform of the surface height. The PSD entropy can characterize the degree of ordering of nanoripples). The lower the PSD entropy of the nanoripples is, the higher the degree of ordering of the nanoripples. Second, to deepen the understanding of the enhanced quality of nanoripples on bilayer systems, the temporal evolution of the nanoripples on the photoresist (PR)/antireflection coating (ARC) and Au/ARC bilayer systems are compared with those of single PR and ARC layers. Finally, we demonstrate that a series of intrinsic IB-induced nanoripples on the top layer may act as a kind of self-organized template to guide the development of another series of latent IB-induced nanoripples on the underlying layer, aiming at improving the ripple ordering. The template with a self-organized nanostructure may alleviate the critical requirement for periodic templates with a small period of ~100 nm. The work may also provide inspiration for guided self-organization in other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems consume near infrared (NIR) filters, which are key components for high conversion efficiency. Bandpass filters employing annular aperture array (AAA) on a fused silica substrate are one of candidates for matching GaSb cells in high-temperature TPV. It is often placed independently between the emitter and cell, and thus spectral control and heat insulation are simultaneously realized. For high efficiency, the smaller the characteristic size and the larger the size is beneficial for the filter. Novel sidewall lithography based on conventional interference lithography and ion-beam etching is first proposed and used for cost-effective fabrication. An AAA filter with a 80 nm critical dimension in a 100 mm × 160 mm area has been fabricated successfully. After the annealing process at 500 °C, the peak transmittance is increased to 70% from 65%, and no deformation is observed in the structural parameters of the filter before and after annealing, and calculated results demonstrate that the spectral efficiency is about 61%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pien Tze Huang (PZH) is a valuable traditional Chinese medicine, which has a variety of biological activities such as clearing heat-toxin, resolving blood stasis, detoxifying, relieving pain, and anti-inflammation. PZH has a partial role in suppressing the progression of CRC, while the underlying mechanism is a pending mystery; especially whether PZH mediates the immune escape of CRC remains unclear. Our study reported that PZH suppressed the proliferative activity of CRC by inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling to down-regulate the expression of PCNA and Cyclin D1. In addition, PZH suppressed the immune escape of CRC and elevated the infiltration of CD8+ T cells in tumor tissues, which depends on the suppression of PD-L1 levels via inhibiting IFNGR1-JAK1-STAT3-IRF1 signaling. More importantly, PZH pharmacologically elevated the antitumor efficacy of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy as demonstrated by slower tumor growth, higher infiltration and function of CD8+ T cells in the combination of PZH and PD-1/PD-L1 antibody compared with monotherapy with either agent. These results demonstrate that PZH has the potential role in inhibiting CRC proliferation and immune evasion, especially the synergistic enhancement effect of PZH on immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion bombardment (IB) is a promising nanofabrication technique for producing nanoripples. A critical issue that restricts the application of IB is the limited quality of IB-induced nanoripples. Photoresist (PR) and antireflection coating (ARC) are of technological relevance for lithographic exposure processes. Moreover, to improve the quality of IB-induced self-organized nanoripples, in this study, a PR/ARC bilayer was bombarded at an incidence angle of 50°. The surface normalized defect density and power spectral density, obtained via scanning atomic force microscopy, indicate the superiority of the PR/ARC bilayer nanoripples over those of single PR or ARC layers. The growth mechanism of the improved nanoripples, deciphered via the temporal evolution of the morphology, involves the following processes: (i) formation of a well-grown IB-induced nanoripple prepattern on the PR, (ii) transfer of nanoripples from the PR to the ARC, forming an initial ARC nanoripple morphology for subsequent IB, and (iii) conversion of the initial nonuniform ARC nanoripples into uniform nanoripples. In this unique method, the angle of ion-incidence should be chosen so that ripples form on both PR and ARC films. Overall, this method facilitates nanoripple improvement, including prepattern fabrication for guiding nanoripple growth and sustainable nanoripple development via a single IB. Thus, the unique method presented in this study can aid in advancing academic research and also has potential applications in the field of IB-induced nanoripples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fabrication method comprising near‐field holography (NFH) with an electron beam lithography (EBL)‐written phase mask was developed to fabricate soft X‐ray varied‐line‐spacing gratings (VLSGs). An EBL‐written phase mask with an area of 52 mm × 30 mm and a central line density greater than 3000 lines mm−1 was used. The introduction of the EBL‐written phase mask substantially simplified the NFH optics for pattern transfer. The characterization of the groove density distribution and diffraction efficiency of the fabricated VLSGs indicates that the EBL–NFH method is feasible and promising for achieving high‐accuracy groove density distributions with corresponding image properties. Vertical stray light is suppressed in the soft X‐ray spectral range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphology evolution of self-organized nanopatterns induced during Ar+ ion bombardment (IB) with Mo co-deposition on fused silica (SiO2) surfaces at different incidence angles and fluences was investigated by using atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. For pure IB at incidence angles from 30° to 70°, SiO2 surfaces evolve from being flat, via ripples, to direction-transversed ripples. In contrast, at the same ion fluence and incidence angles, the simultaneous Mo co-deposition leads to significant terraced structures with significantly enhanced roughness and wavelength. Our observations show that the concurrent Mo co-deposition during IB can reduce the critical incidence angle and the fluence level of terrace formation. Owing to the guidance of the IB-induced morphology, at incidence angles where a well-ordered ripple-mode can be generated, well-ordered terrace morphology is more likely to be formed. Terraced structures are initiated and further grow until the appearance of the nonlinear phase, i.e., where the ripple amplitude is sufficiently high. The enhanced terrace morphology on smooth SiO2 results from the interplay between pure IB and Mo co-deposition. The phase separation is attributed to the formation of crystalline MoOx on the side facing the impurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ion beam sputtering (IBS) of smooth mono-elemental Si with impurity co-deposition is extended to a pre-rippled binary compound surface of fused silica (SiO). The dependence of the rms roughness and the deposited amount of Al on the distance from the Al source under Ar IBS with Al co-deposition was investigated on smooth SiO, pre-rippled SiO, and smooth Si surfaces, using atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Although the amounts of Al deposited on these three surfaces all decreased with increasing distance from the Al target, the morphology and rms roughness of the smooth Si surface did not demonstrate a strong distance dependence. In contrast to smooth Si, the rms roughness of both the smooth and pre-rippled SiO surfaces exhibited a similar distance evolution trend of increasing, decreasing, and final stabilization at the distance where the results were similar to those obtained without Al co-deposition. However, the pre-rippled SiO surfaces showed a stronger modulation of rms roughness than the smooth surfaces. At the incidence angles of 60° and 70°, dot-decorated ripples and roof-tiles were formed on the smooth SiO surfaces, respectively, whereas nanostructures of closely aligned grains and blazed facets were generated on the pre-rippled SiO, respectively. The combination of impurity co-deposition with pre-rippled surfaces was found to facilitate the formation of novel types of nanostructures and morphological growth. The initial ripples act as a template to guide the preferential deposition of Al on the tops of the ripples or the ripple sides facing the Al wedge, but not in the valleys between the ripples, leading to 2D grains and quasi-blazed grating, which offer significant promise in optical applications. The rms roughness enhancement is attributed not to AlSi, but to AlOF compounds originating mainly from the Al source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure effects of distributed feedback (DFB) gratings on lasing action have been investigated for detecting explosive vapors. For the first time, we have established the optimized profiles of the DFB grating, and given the theoretical path to design its structure for amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) of organic polymer films based on Bragg conditions. A poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) (PPE) film can realize detection of dinitrotoluene (DNT) vapors in 2 min with a reduced excitation threshold of 26 mJ cm−2 by using a simple and common 405 nm laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acrylamide (AA) is a common heat-generated toxicant in some food. Inhibiting its formation with natural antioxidants is of great significance. The current study aims to investigate the alleviative effect and the underlying mechanism of allicin against AA-induced oxidative stress in BRL-3A cells. BRL-3A cells were pretreated with allicin at different concentrations for 2 h, followed by AA treatment. Cell viability was determined by Cell Counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) status was measured using the 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) method. Levels of oxidative stress markers were determined by measuring total superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and 8-hydroxy-desoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) using commercial kits. Expression of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway-related proteins was determined by Western blotting. Allicin markedly mitigated oxidative and DNA damage by increasing the activities of SOD and GSH-Px and decreasing the levels of ROS and 8-OHdG. Concomitant with these biochemical parameters, pretreatment with allicin reversed the impact of AA on the expression of p-JNK, p-ERK1/2 and p-p38. Allicin combined with SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) and SB202190 (p38 inhibitor) enhanced cell viability in the presence of AA, as opposed to SCH772984 (ERK inhibitor). Notably, allicin ameliorated the expression of KGF, Gadd45a, c-Fos, Dusp5 and Phospholipase A2, which were related to liver injury. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that allicin exerts protective effects against AA-induced oxidative stress by modulating the MAPK signaling pathway in BRL-3A cells. The proposed mechanisms of allicin alleviating oxidative stress in AA-induced BRL-3A cells. Unlabelled Image • Ameliorative effect of allicin was detected by oxidative indexes and MAPK-related proteins. • Allicin alters the expression of KGF, Gadd45a, c-Fos, Dusp5 and Phospholipase A2 induced by AA. • Allicin may activate ERK1/2 and inhibite JNK and p38 pathways against AA-induced stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single-frame complete spatiotemporal characteristics measurement method of ultrafast laser pulses, named Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing Spectral Interferometry (CFDMSI), is proposed and demonstrated. Based on the idea of frequency division multiplexing, the 3D spatiotemporal field E (x , y , t) of a femtosecond laser pulse can be reconstructed from a single spectral interferogram. The implementation of CFDMSI is quite simple, just fixing a slit array at the entrance of an imaging spectrometer, then injecting the unknown pulse and the reference pulse into the imaging spectrometer at a certain cross angle. By recording and analyzing a single spectral interferogram, the unknown pulse's spatiotemporal field in the sampling area of the slit array can be obtained. The principle and implementation of CFDMSI are introduced, and its effectiveness is verified by a demonstration experiment. • A single-frame complete spatiotemporal characterization method is proposed. • The Spectral Interferometry technique is improved by frequency division multiplexing. • The spatiotemporal coupling of ultrafast lasers can be measured in real time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to investigate the ameliorative effect of salidroside (SAL) on the crosstalk among liver metabonomics, gut barrier function and bile acids in furan-induced mice. Forty male mice were randomly divided into the following five groups: CON, FUR 8 (8 mg/kg/day furan), SAL 10 (8 mg/kg/day furan+10 mg/kg/day SAL), SAL 20 (8 mg/kg/day furan+20 mg/kg/day SAL), and SAL 40 (8 mg/kg/day+40 mg/kg/day SAL). Mice were administered with furan for 30 days and SAL was administered for 15 days from day 16. Principal components analysis (PCA) and heatmap were employed to probe metabonomics profile alterations in liver tissues and select thirty-eight potential biomarkers. Pathway analysis revealed primary bile acids were largely changed in the biosynthesis pathway. Moreover, SAL regulated the activation of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), downregulating hepatic heterodimer partner (SHP), upregulating cholesterol 7a-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) as well as decreasing the expression of portal fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15), compared to the furan-treated group. Importantly, SAL dramatically increased the level of tight junction proteins, as immunohistochemistry results show. In conclusion, the ameliorative effects of SAL on liver damage induced by furan might be due to altered gut barrier function, while FXR signaling acted a significant role in the function of SAL. SAL play an ameliorative role to affect liver metabonomics in relation to modified gut-liver FXR signaling in furan-induced mice. Image 1 • Thirty-eight metabolites were identified by LC-MS system in FUR 8 group. • As the dose increasing, SAL altered at least 9 metabolites compared to FUR 8 group. • SAL changed the primary bile acids pathway compared to FUR 8 group. • SAL improved liver injury caused by furan by affecting gut barrier function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In our study, the ameliorative effect of salidroside (SAL) from Rhodiola Rosea L. on the intestinal microflora subject to furan-induced liver injury in a mouse model was investigated by 16 S rDNA, oxidative indexes, LPS and cytokine levels. The results demonstrated that SAL alleviated hepatic oxidative injury by inhibiting the activities of AST, ALT and the content of MDA, and promoting the activities of SOD, GSH and GST, compared to the furan-treated group. SAL significantly modified the intestinal microbial diversity and downregulated the circulating levels of serum LPS, IL-6, and TNF-α, as well as enhanced the content of IL-10. Importantly, SAL dramatically increased LPS-suppressing bacteria genera Akkermansia, and decreased LPS-producing bacteria phyla Proteobacteria. Our results indicate that SAL supplement restrains intestinal microbial dysbiosis and systemic low-grade inflammation induced by furan. Hopefully, SAL is a potential therapeutical and prophylactic compound in medicament for hepatic diseases. Graphical abstract SAL play an ameliorative role to improve liver diseases by affecting gut microbiota in furan-induced mice using 16 S rDNA sequencing. Image 1 Highlights • The ameliorative effect of SAL on gut microflora subject to furan-induced liver injury was investigated by 16 S rDNA. • SAL dramatically increased LPS-suppressing bacteria Akkermansia , and decreased LPS-producing bacteria Proteobacteria. • SAL supplement restrained intestinal microbial dysbiosis and systemic low-grade inflammation induced by furan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we introduce an optimum ICP etching technique that successfully removes the subsurface damage (SSD) layer of fused silica without causing plasma induced surface damage (PISD) or lateral etching of SSD. As one of the commonest PISD initiators, metal contamination from reactor chamber is prevented by employing a simple isolation device. Based on this device, a unique low-density pitting damage is discovered and subsequently eliminated by optimizing the etching parameters. Meanwhile etching anisotropy also improves a lot, thus preventing the lateral etching of SSD. Using this proposed technique, SSD layer of fused silica is successfully removed with a surface roughness of 0.23 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Random nanoholes on photoresist were produced at normal and near-normal incidence. • Tunable nanoholes can be tailored/replicated with deterministic ion beam parameters. • XPS analysis confirmed ion bombardment-induced graphitization of resist. • Results imply mass redistribution is critical in pattern formation. • Ion bombardment-induced nanoholes are potential nano-templates for pattern transfer. Random nanohole morphologies on a photoresist surface were produced spontaneously by ion bombardment, from normal to near-normal incidence. At an optimized ion energy, the critical parameters (diameter and depth) and uniformity of these nanoholes can be tailored with multi-ion parameters, including ion fluence (i.e. bombardment time), ion flux, and incidence angle. The temporal evolution of the nanohole structures, at normal incidence, showed growth and stabilization regimes. The mass redistribution effect and the distribution of energy deposition led to the transition from nanoholes to nanoripples, which were deduced from the crater shape evolution at low incidence angles. The incidence angle-dependent evolution of the crater shape (or rim) on the resist surface is consistent with the crater function simulation, and confirms the ion bombardment-induced surface atomic currents and mass redistribution. Finally, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization confirmed ion bombardment-induced decomposition, in particular, graphitization in the surface layer of the resist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy dependence of resist morphology under ion bombardment is demonstrated. • Light molecules in organic resist were enriched by ion bombardment. • Ion energy shows great potential for modulating chemistry and morphology. • Nanoholes were formed on organic resist in a wide ion energy range. • Morphology evolution is preliminarily explained using existing theoretical models. The energy dependence of nanostructures on a photoresist produced by ion bombardment (IB) under normal incidence is studied through atomic force microscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS). The energy-dependent morphology evolved from weak islands via nanoholes to a smooth surface on the resist; in particular, nanoholes were produced for a broad energy range of 300–550 eV. The enrichment of light components in the surface layer of the irradiated resist was illustrated owing to the strong decomposition of the photoresist by IB. The energy dependence of the morphologies is explained according to the ToF-SIMS characterization and the existing theoretical models of IB, which is an IB-induced synergy of chemical variation and sputtering. This study extends the IB in inorganic materials into an organic-multicomponent photoresist and provides new insights into the experimental evidence for nanoholes and possible parameters to improve the relevant theoretical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is overexpressed in multiple cancers and critical for their immune escape. It has previously shown that the nuclear coactivator SRC-1 promoted colorectal cancer (CRC) progression by enhancing CRC cell viability, yet its role in CRC immune escape is unclear. Here, we demonstrate that SRC-1 is positively correlated with PD-L1 in human CRC specimens. SRC-1 deficiency significantly inhibits PD-L1 expression in CRC cells and retards murine CRC growth in subcutaneous grafts by enhancing CRC immune escape via increasing tumor infiltration of CD8 + T cells. Genetic ablation of SRC-1 in mice also decreases PD-L1 expression in AOM/DSS-induced murine CRC. These results suggest that tumor-derived SRC-1 promotes CRC immune escape by enhancing PD-L1 expression. Mechanistically, SRC-1 activated JAK-STAT signaling by inhibiting SOCS1 expression and coactivated STAT3 and IRF1 to enhance PD-L1 transcription as well as stabilized PD-L1 protein by inhibiting proteasome-dependent degradation mediated by speckle type POZ protein (SPOP). Pharmacological inhibition of SRC-1 improved the antitumor effect of PD-L1 antibody in both subcutaneous graft and AOM/DSS-induced murine CRC models. Taken together, these findings highlight a crucial role of SRC-1 in regulating PD-L1 expression and targeting SRC-1 in combination with PD-L1 antibody immunotherapy may be an attractive strategy for CRC treatment., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

In this paper we present the design and fabrication of the reflection varied-line-space concave grating (VLSCG) for the project of CAFE (the Census of warm-hot intergalactic medium, Accretion, and Feedback Explorer), which aims to detect and map the warm-hot circumgalactic medium via OVI emission at 103.2 nm and 103.8 nm, using two off-Rowland-circle spectrograph channels. High diffraction efficiency at LUV is supposed for the VLSCG and an aperture ratio as small as $F/3.6$ is desired for a compact design. The gratings are fabricated by holographic lithography and ion beam etching techniques. We introduce an additional lens into the normal holographic exposing system to generate the varied-line-space grating patterns. Grooves with triangle profiles are obtained to increase the diffraction efficiency by oblique ion beam bombardment during the etching process. Finally, several VLSCGs with a central line density of 3300 lines/mm have been fabricated successfully. The measured results show that the groove efficiency reaches 51% at 106.4 nm and 31% at 127.4 nm. We imitated the working optical path of the spectrometer and used the ${-}{1}$ order of the VLSCG to measure the image near the exit slit. The results showed that the image of the point source has a vertical extent of 0.68 mm, and the aberrations have been corrected.

The binary fused silica gratings (BFSGs) with high diffraction efficiency are presented for large astronomical ground-based telescopes. Calculations demonstrate that the BFSGs could obtain high diffraction efficiency in a wider wavelength range and angle of incident (AOI) range compared with volume phase holographic gratings. Several gratings with a size of 60 m m ×60 m m have been fabricated by holographic lithography and reactive ion-beam etching technology. The measured peak diffraction efficiency reaches 94%, and results show that there are 130 nm wavelength bandwidth and 12° AOI bandwidth in which diffraction efficiency is higher than 70%. The stray light causes the diffraction efficiency to decrease by about 0.48%. All measurements have indicated good consistency with the simulation results.

To circumvent elaborate conventional lithographic methods for realizing metallic nanostructures, it is necessary to develop self-organized nanofabrication methods for suitable template structures and their optical characterization. We demonstrate the potential of ion bombardment with impurity co-deposition to fabricate terraced or quasi-blazed nanostructure templates. Self-organized terraced nanostructures on fused silica were fabricated using A r + ion bombardment with iron impurity co-deposition and subsequent Au shadow deposition. The aspect ratios are enhanced threefold, and the range of nanostructure period variation is significantly increased with respect to that of conventional nanostructures realized by pure ion bombardment. We reveal the key features of the method via atomic force microscopy and optical characterization. Variable-profile quasiperiodic nanostructures with periods of 100-450 nm, heights of 25-180 nm, and blaze angles of 10°-25° were fabricated over an area of 20×40 m m 2 , and these exhibited tunable and broadening optical anisotropy across the nanostructured area. Thus, the proposed method is a viable technique for rapid, cost-effective, and deterministic fabrication of variable nanostructure templates for potential optical applications.

Near-field holography (NFH) combined with electron beam lithography (EBL)-written phase masks is a promising method for the rapid realization of diffraction gratings with high resolution and high accuracy in line density distribution. We demonstrate a dynamic exposure method in which the grating substrate is shifted during pattern transfer. This reduces the effects of stitching errors, resulting in the decreased intensity of the optical stray light (i.e., Rowland ghosts). We demonstrate the intensity suppression of ghosts by 60%. This illustrates the potential for dynamic NFH to suppress undesirable periodic patterns from phase masks and alleviate the stitching errors induced by EBL.

Parallel flat-field gratings consist of two flat-field gratings lying on one substrate, one for 5-20 nm and the other for 2-5 nm spectral regions, and thus can be widely used in various fields to record broader spectra in the soft x-ray region. The alignment of two subgratings directly determines the resolving power of parallel flat-field gratings. The theoretical resolving power is evaluated by means of the ray-tracing method and the maximal allowable alignment error is 0.366°. Alignment is based on diffraction patterns and moiré fringes and the total alignment error in our experiment is within 0.234°. The results demonstrate that this alignment method is an effective way for fabricating parallel flat-field gratings.

A soft x-ray flat-field grating with a nominal groove density of 2400 grooves/mm is typically used in wavelengths of 1-6 nm or 1-7 nm for plasma diagnostics. However, measurement of wavelengths even down to 0.6 nm simultaneously is expected in practice. Unfortunately, a grating has a poor spectral image at wavelengths below 1.3 nm. In order to improve the spectral image at lower wavelengths, multi-area gratings (divided perpendicular to the direction of grating grooves) are devised. To reduce the contribution of certain areas with poor spectral image to the final spectral image, the profile parameters of groove on the area are optimized by suppressing spectral efficiency. Theoretical analysis demonstrates that, using multi-area gratings, the spectral image at lower wavelengths could be obviously improved; thus, the spectral resolving power at a wavelength of 0.7 nm is increased from 94 to 398.

A method was developed for aligning interference fringes generated in interference lithography to the vertical {111} planes of <110> oriented silicon wafers. The alignment error is 0.036°. This high precision method makes it possible to combine interference lithography with anisotropic wet etch technique for the fabrication of high aspect ratio silicon gratings with extremely smooth sidewalls over a large sample area. With this alignment method, 320 nm and 2 μm period silicon gratings have been successfully fabricated. The highest aspect ratio is up to 100. The sample area is about 50 mm × 60 mm. The roughness (root mean square) of the sidewall is about 0.267 nm.

In order to improve the efficiency uniformity of large-aperture beam sampling gratings (BSGs), a conventional chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process of fused silica by CeO₂ slurry is proposed to modify their groove profiles. With the proposed CMP process, the efficiency uniformity of several BSGs with an aperture of 430  mm×430  mm has been successfully controlled within an rms of 5%. The proposed CMP process is an effective method to improve the efficiency uniformity of large-aperture BSGs. Using the proposed CMP process, the requirement of the uniformity of the holographic ion beam etching process can be released in the realization of large-aperture BSGs.

We describe a simple and convenient method of controlling the profile of a blazed grating that consists of using a patterned native-oxide layer of off-cut silicon (111) wafers as the mask of anisotropic etching to maximize the smooth blaze facets of the desired blaze angle and to minimize the deficiencies of the groove apexes. With the blazed-grating profile well controlled by this technique, a 1200 g/mm blazed grating was fabricated that had a blaze angle of 5.0 degrees and smooth blaze facets of about 0.2 nm rms. It was measured to have blaze efficiency in the vacuum-ultraviolet wavelength region.

Grating beam splitters have been fabricated for soft X-ray Mach- Zehnder interferometer using holographic interference lithography. The grating beam splitter consists of two gratings, one works at X-ray laser wavelength of 13.9 nm with the spatial frequency of 1000 lines/mm as the operation grating, the other works at visible wavelength of 632.8 nm for pre-aligning the X-ray interferometer with the spatial frequency of 22 lines/mm as the pre-alignment grating. The two gratings lie vertically on the same substrate. The main feature of the beam splitter is the use of low-spatial- frequency beat grating of a holographic double frequency grating as the pre-alignment grating of the X-ray interferometer. The grating line parallelism between the two gratings can be judged by observing the diffraction patterns of the pre-alignment grating directly.

We demonstrate a method of fabricating varied-line-spacing grating by employing elastic medium with variable vertical section. The advantages of this technique include continuous variation of line spacing, high fabrication efficiency, low cost, etc. It is very difficult or impractical to produce this variation of line spacing by traditional interference lithography. This kind of grating can be used in an optical position sensor to improve the precision of the sensor.