We present a theoretical study of the electronic subband structure and collective electronic excitation associated with plasmon and surface plasmon modes in metal-based hollow nanosphere. The dependence of the electronic subband energy on the sample parameters of the hollow nanosphere is examined. We find that the subband states with different quantum numbers l degenerate roughly when the outer radius of the sphere is r2 ≥ 100 nm. In this case, the energy spectrum of a sphere is mainly determined by quantum number n. Moreover, the plasmon and surface plasmon excitations can be achieved mainly via inter-subband transitions from occupied subbands to unoccupied subbands. We examine the dependence of the plasmon and surface-plasmon frequencies on the shell thickness d and the outer radius r2 of the sphere using the standard random-phase approximation. We find that when a four-state model is employed for calculations, four branches of the plasmon and surface plasmon oscillations with terahertz frequencies can be observed, respectively.
In this study, Ni and Cu nanowire arrays and Ni/Cu superlattice nanowire arrays are fabricated using standard techniques such as electrochemical deposition of metals into porous anodic alumina oxide templates having pore diameters of about 50 nm. We perform optical measurements on these nanowire array structures. Optical reflectance (OR) of the as-prepared samples is recorded using an imaging spectrometer in the wavelength range from 400 to 2,000 nm (i.e., from visible to near-infrared bandwidth). The measurements are carried out at temperatures set to be 4.2, 70, 150, and 200 K and at room temperature. We find that the intensity of the OR spectrum for nanowire arrays depends strongly on the temperature. The strongest OR can be observed at about T = 200 K for all samples in visible regime. The OR spectra for these samples show different features in the visible and near-infrared bandwidths. We discuss the physical mechanisms responsible for these interesting experimental findings. This study is relevant to the application of metal nanowire arrays as optical and optoelectronic devices.
Talaromyces marneffei tends to induce systemic infection in immunocompromised individuals, which is one of the causes of the high mortality. The underlying molecular mechanisms of T.marneffei -induced abnormal liver function are still poorly understood. In this study, we found that T.marneffei -infected patients could develop abnormal liver function, evidenced by reduced albumin and increased levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and AST/alanine aminotransferase (ALT). T. marneffei -infected mice exhibited similar characteristics. In vitro investigations showed that T.marneffei induced the death of AML-12 cells. Furthermore, we determined that T.marneffei infection induced pyroptosis in hepatocytes of C57BL/6J mice and AML-12 cells, demonstrated by the increase of AIM2, caspase-1/-4, Gasdermin D(GSDMD) and pyroptosis-related cytokines in T.marneffei -infected mice/cells. Importantly, cell death was markedly suppressed in the presence of VX765 (an inhibitor of caspase-1/-4). Furthermore, in the presence of VX765, T.marneffei -induced pyroptosis was blocked. Nevertheless, necroptosis and apoptosis were also detected in infected animal model at 14 days post-infection. In conclusion, T.marneffei induces pyroptosis in hepatocytes through activation of the AIM2-caspase-1/-4-GSDMD axis, which may be an important cause of liver damage, and other death pathways including necroptosis and apoptosis may also be involved in the later stage of infection.
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