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An energy-tunable transmission hard x-ray microscope with close to 60 nm spatial resolution in three dimensions ͑3D͒ has been developed. With a cone beam illumination, a zone plate of 50 nm outmost zone width, a stable mechanical design, and software feedback, we obtained tomographic data sets that are close to 60 nm spatial resolution. Meanwhile, the element specific imaging was also obtained by a differential absorption contrast technique used below and above the absorption of the element. Examples of advanced intergraded circuit devices are used to demonstrate the element selectivity and spatial resolution in 3D of the microscope.

Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1α and HIF2α and the inhibitor of apoptosis survivin represent prominent markers of many human cancers. They are also widely expressed in various embryonic tissues, including the central nervous system; however, little is known about their functions in embryos. Here, we show that zebrafish HIF2α protects neural progenitor cells and neural differentiation processes by upregulating the survivin orthologues birc5a and birc5b during embryogenesis. Morpholino-mediated knockdown of hif2α reduced the transcription of birc5a and birc5b, induced p53-independent apoptosis and abrogated neural cell differentiation. Depletion of birc5a and birc5b recaptured the neural development defects that were observed in the hif2α morphants. The phenotypes induced by HIF2α depletion were largely rescued by ectopic birc5a and birc5b mRNAs, indicating that Birc5a and Birc5b act downstream of HIF2α. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that HIF2α binds to birc5a and birc5b promoters directly to modulate their transcriptions. Knockdown of hif2α, birc5a or birc5b reduced the expression of the cdk inhibitors p27/cdkn1b and p57/cdkn1c and increased ccnd1/cyclin D1 transcription in the surviving neural progenitor cells. The reduction in elavl3/HuC expression and enhanced pcna, nestin, ascl1b and sox3 expression indicate that the surviving neural progenitor cells in hif2α morphants maintain a high proliferation rate without terminally differentiating. We propose that a subset of developmental defects attributed to HIF2α depletion is due in part to the loss of survivin activity.

Strong enhancement of Ge direct transition by biaxial-tensile strain was observed. The reduction in band gap difference between the direct and indirect valleys by biaxial tensile strain increases the electron population in the direct valley, and enhances the direct transition. The band gap reduction in the direct and indirect valleys can be extracted from the photoluminescence spectra and is consistent with the calculations using k • p and deformation potential methods for conduction bands and valence bands, respectively.