The electrochemical performance observed

for CNS material is very interesting given the fact that CNS’s production cost is away cheaper than activated carbon. The cost of activated carbon is about $15/kg whereas the cost to manufacture CNS soot as by-product from large-scale milling of abundant graphite is about $1/kg. We believe this technology will boost the performance and stability of the lithium ion batteries while driving the price of actual anode materials down from $20 to $40/kg to about $5/kg. In particular, for stationary energy storage applications, Endocrinology antagonist cost along safety is the most important factor to consider. In order for the hybrid CNS-silicon material to show great promise for use in fabricating electrodes for a new breed of low-cost and high-performance lithium ion batteries, the size of silicon particles needs to be refined at the nanometer scale along with a process development to effectively remove the native silicon oxide. To that end, characterization of a half-cell configuration of proposed anodes is being carried out and results will Entinostat be compared with AC-based anode in terms of specific

capacity, efficiency, and degradation using cyclic voltammetry analysis. Acknowledgments This material is based upon work supported by the State of Texas Fund to the University of Houston Center for Advanced Materials. FCRH wishes to thank the University of Houston and the Government of Texas for the startup funding. References 1. Marcano DC, Kosynkin DV, Berlin JM, Sinitskii A, Sun Z, Slesarev A, Alemany LB, Lu W, Tour M: Improved synthesis of graphene oxide. ACS Nano 2010, 4:4806–4814.CrossRef 2. Lai LF, Chen L, Zhan D, Sun L, Liu L, Lim SH, Poh CK, Shen Z, Lin J: One-step synthesis of NH 2 -graphene from in situ graphene-oxide reduction and its improved electrochemical properties. Carbon 2011, 49:3250–3257.CrossRef 3. Eda G, Fanchini G, Chhowalla M: Large-area ultrathin films of reduced graphene oxide as a transparent and flexible electronic material. Nat Nanotechnol 2008, 3:270.CrossRef 4. Hummers WS, Offeman RE: Preparation of graphitic oxide. J C-X-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CXCR-7) Am Chem

Soc 1958, 80:1339.CrossRef 5. Niyogi S, Bekyarova E, Itikis ME, McWilliams JL, Hammon MA, Haddon RC: Processable aqueous dispersions of graphene nanosheets. J Am Chem Soc 2006, 128:7720.CrossRef 6. Park S, Ruoff RS: Chemical methods for the production of graphenes. Nat Nanotechno 2009, 4:217.CrossRef 7. Beaulieu LY, Eberman KW, Turner RL, Krause LJ, Dahn JR: Failure modes of silicon powder negative electrode for lithium secondary batteries. Electrochem Solid State Lett 2001, 4:A137.CrossRef 8. Besenhard JO, Yang J, Winter M: Will advanced lithium-alloy anodes have a chance in lithium-ion batteries? J Power Sources 1997, 68:87.CrossRef 9. Lazertinib in vitro Hatchard TD, Dahn JR: Study of the electrochemical performance of sputtered Si1-xSnx films. J Electrochem Soc 2004, 151:A838.CrossRef 10.

Table 4 Comparison of results for selected up-regulated genes determined by Affymetrix/S score and RQ-PCR. Gene Description Ingenuty Name Affymetrix Probe Set S Score Fold RQ-PCR Network Location Interleukin-8 IL8 211506_s_at 11.393 59.4

± 15.5 See Figure 3 Extra-cellular ATPase, BAY 57-1293 nmr Na+/K+ transporting, Beta 1 polypeptide ATP1B1 201242_s_at 7.184 4.5 ± 1.8 10 Plasma Membrane Syndecan 4 SDC4 202071_at 8.823 4.0 ± 0.84 5 Plasma Membrane Retinoic acid receptor responder (tazarotene induced) 1 RARRES1 221872_at 6.179 2.4± 0.7 8 Plasma Membrane tumor https://www.selleckchem.com/products/z-ietd-fmk.html necrosis factor, alpha-induced protein 3 TNIP1 207196_s_at 9.344 2.0 ± 0.2 See Figure 3 Nucleus nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha NFKBIA 201502_s_at 10.956 4.0

± 1.2. See Figure 3 Cytoplasm C59 wnt mw Matrix Metallo-peptidase 7 MMP7 202644_s_at 9.812 2.1 ± 4.2 9 & See Additional file 3 Extra-cellular For each gene ingenuity description, name and Affymetrix probe set, assigned network and cellular location are shown together with the S score and fold RQ-PCR change compared to β-actin control. Chemokine and cytokine responses To further validate the gene transcriptional changes using microarray and RQ-PCR methods, we measured the levels of secretory immunomodulatory proteins in parallel cell supernatants of HCA-7 cells pre- and post-induction with C. jejuni BCE. Table 5 presents the chemokine and cytokine levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory secretory proteins. Consistent with the microarray observations the pro-inflammatory chemokine CCL20 showed a 12.6-fold increase in levels 6 h. post treatment. IL8 levels were also found to increase, but far more dramatically than CCL20 with a 460-fold induction. HCA-7 colonocytes

are particularly IL8 responsive with post-induction levels of 18.4 ng/ml, an observation that is consistent with previous reports with this cell line [8]. The pro-inflammatory cytokine IL1β showed a weak response consistent with the transcriptional response recorded in the microarray study. Pro-inflammatory cytokine IL6 showed a 5-fold increase, whereas the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL10 remained static. The tuclazepam transcriptional response of the genes encoding IL6 and IL10 did not show marked transcriptional changes but the pathways associated with these immunomodulatory proteins were recognized by IPA and are responsive to NF-κB. Table 5 Cytokine and chemokine levels (pg/ml) pre- and post-induction of HCA-7 cells with C. jejuni BCE for 6 h.   Pre-Induction Post-Induction Fold-Induction IL10 12 (± 2) 15 (± 3) 1.25 IL6 30 (± 3) 150 (± 5) 5 IL1β 20 (± 4) 30 (± 6) 1.5 IL8 40 (± 16) 18,400 (± 400) 460 CCL20 30 (± 6) 380 (± 40) 12.6 Discussion Understanding the pathogenesis of C. jejuni enteric disease is important both because C. jejuni is a major cause of diarrhoeal illness worldwide and because it may serve as a model for ulcerative colitis, the pathology of which it closely resembles [15].

J Infect Dis 2004,189(3):420–430.PubMedCrossRef 33. Huebner J, Wang Y, Krueger WA, Madoff LC, Martirosian G, Boisot S, Goldmann DA, Kasper DL, Tzianabos AO, Pier GB: Isolation and chemical characterization of a capsular polysaccharide antigen shared by clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecalis and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. Infect Immun 1999,67(3):1213–1219.PubMed 34. Callegan MC,

Jett BD, Hancock LE, Gilmore MS: Role of hemolysin BL in the pathogenesis of extraintestinal Bacillus cereus infection assessed in an endophthalmitis model. Infect Immun 1999,67(7):3357–3366.PubMed 35. Arnaud M, Chastanet A, Debarbouille M: New vector for efficient allelic replacement in naturally nontransformable, low-GC-content, gram-positive bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol

2004,70(11):6887–6891.PubMedCrossRef Savolitinib nmr JNK-IN-8 datasheet Authors’ contributions CT participated in the isolation and TLC analysis of glycolipids and LTA, the design and interpretation of the experiments, made the statistical analysis, and drafted the G418 mw manuscript. IS performed the cell culture assays, autolysis assay and hydrophobicity assay. YB carried out the biofilm assay and participated in the molecular genetic studies. AK performed the opsonophagocytic killing assay and the mouse infection model. PSC performed the biochemical analysis of glycolipids and LTA. EG participated in the draft of the manuscript. OH participated in the biochemical analysis of the glycolipids and LTA and the draft of manuscript. JH participated in the design, coordination and interpretation of the study, and the draft of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Background Multipartite genomes are common among members of the α-proteobacteria [1]. Most

symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria belonging to the genera Rhizobium, Sinorhizobium, Mesorhizobium and Bradyrhizobium possess multipartite genomes organized as a single circular chromosome and a variable number of large plasmids [2]. In some species plasmids can represent, in terms of size, up to 40% of the total genome. In Rhizobium and Sinorhizobium species one plasmid (pSym) concentrates most of the genes required for nodulation and nitrogen Rutecarpine fixation [3]. The complete genome sequences of different rhizobia have revealed that plasmids harbor mainly accessory genes and that most encode predicted transport systems and a variety of catabolic pathways that may contribute to the adaptation of rhizobia to the heterogeneous soil and nodule environments [2, 4]. These genes are absent from closely related genomes, lack synteny and their G+C composition differs from that of the core genes. The core genes are mainly located on chromosomes, have essential functions in cell maintenance and have orthologs in related species [5, 6].

A finite element method (FEM) simulation was used to study the elastic behaviour of an

Ag dumbbell structure interacting with a flat substrate (more details in Additional file 1: Figure S4). The model consisted of a dumbbell-like geometry resting on a flat rectangular block. The first case (Figure 3a) describes the earlier stage of dumbbell formation; the length of the adhered part was chosen to be 1 μm long. The second case (Figure 3b) depicts a later stage of dumbbell formation, Abemaciclib where most of the wire between the balls is detached (the length of the adhered part is 10 nm). In the vicinity of the interface separation edge, the elastic stresses are concentrated and may reach 0.5 to 4 GPa, which can be sufficient to induce interface separation. Note that the stress decreases with the decrease of the length of the adhered part; thus, only

relatively TSA HDAC purchase short NDs are able to detach from the substrate completely. Figure 3 FEM simulations of elastic behavior of a ND adhered to a substrate. The bulb radius is 175 nm, total wire length 2 μm, and the wire cross section is pentagonal of 100 nm in diameter. (a) First case – adhered part length 1 μm. (b) Second case – adhered part length 10 nm. The thermal stresses induced by contraction of the NW due to cooling may play a significant role in the interface separation as well. The thermal strain th can be estimated from the following equation: (2) where α Ag is the thermal expansion coefficient of silver and ΔT is the GNS-1480 mw difference of the initial and final temperatures. The thermal expansion coefficient

of bulk silver is 19.7 × 10-6/K [20], and considering the temperature difference of 680 K, the strain for such a process is approximately 1.34%. Calculating the thermal stress by σ th = E Ag th, where E is Young’s modulus for silver (E Ag ≈ 83 GPa), one yields σ th ≈ 1.1 GPa. As the result of superposition of the elastic stress of bent NW and thermal stress, interface separation takes place similarly to crack propagation. Contact area and static friction The contact area, as well as GBA3 friction between the end bulbs and the substrate, will strongly depend on the shape of the bulbs. According to the experimental observations, the end bulbs of the NDs have an ellipsoidal shape that is close to prolate spheroid with the semi-axes R 1 and R 2. For purposes of simplicity, we will use spherical ball approximation, justified by the ratio R 1/R 2 ~ 1. Thus, the effective radius will only be used. The real shape of the bulb is a result of the dynamic interplay of surface tension and adhesion forces in a liquid droplet followed by solidification. In this regard, two boundary cases can be considered.

* = significant time effect (p < .01). Post hoc analyses show no significant difference was observed between treatments in any of the other sets (p > .05). Values are mean ± standard deviation. Blood lactate and glucose concentrations There was a main effect for time and treatment (p < .01) as well as an MLN8237 supplier interaction for blood lactate concentration during exercise (F = 2.57, η 2  = 0.20, p < .01). Post hoc analyses show that blood lactate concentrations in CAF + PLA and CAF + CHO conditions were significantly higher than those OICR-9429 ic50 in PLA + CHO and PLA + PLA conditions for Sets 5, 8, and 10 throughout the RSE (p < .05; Figure 5A). Blood

lactate concentration increased from Set 1 to the last Set and was significantly higher than pre-test (p < .01) in all conditions. Figure 5 Changes in blood lactate (A) and glucose (B) concentration at pre-test and after set 1, 5, 8, and 10 for the conditions of caffeine + placebo (CAF + PLA), caffeine + carbohydrate (CAF + CHO), placebo + carbohydrate (PLA + CHO), and placebo + placebo (PLA + PLA). SIS3 molecular weight * = significant

increase from pre-test (p < .01). # = significant increase from pre-test in the CAF + CHO (p < .05). † = significant decrease from set 1 in the PLA + CHO (p < .05). a = significant difference between CAF + CHO and PLA + CHO (p < .05). b = significant difference between CAF + CHO and PLA + PLA (p < .05). c = significant difference between CAF + PLA and PLA + CHO (p < .05). d = significant difference between CAF + PLA and PLA + PLA (p < .05). e = significant difference between CAF + PLA and PLA + CHO (p < .05). f = significant difference between PLA + CHO and PLA + PLA (p < .05). Values are mean ± standard deviation. There was an interaction for blood glucose concentration (F = 7.53, η 2  = 0.43,

p < .01) as well as a main effect for treatment and time during exercise. Post hoc for treatment shows blood glucose was significantly higher in PLA + CHO compared with other treatments at pre-test and Set 1 during RSE, but caffeine ingestion combined with Montelukast Sodium carbohydrate or placebo significantly increased glucose levels during subsequent RSE (Figure 5B). In addition, post hoc analyses show that blood glucose concentration was significantly higher at Set 1 compared to pre-test in CAF + CHO (p < .01), and higher blood glucose at Set 1 versus Set 5 in PLA + CHO (p < .05). In addition, blood glucose concentration remained stable throughout RSE with CAF + PLA and PLA + PLA ingestion (p > .05). Serum cortisol and testosterone concentrations No significant interaction was observed for serum cortisol (F = 0.34, η 2  = 0.33, p = .79) or testosterone (F = 0.31, η 2  = 0.03, p = .59), and there was no treatment effect for serum cortisol (F = 0.86, η 2  = 0.08, p = .48) or testosterone (F = 3.60, η 2  = 0.26, p = .09).

Furthermore, Zotta et al. (2009) have shown the involvement of the HrcA and CtsR proteins in the heat stress response of S. thermophilus Sfi39 [8]. Apart from these data, little is known about the network of regulation controlling S. thermophilus adaptation to temperature changes. Among bacterial transcriptional click here regulators is the wide conserved family of Rgg regulators encoded by genes, exclusively found in the order of Lactobacillales and the family Listeriaceae [9]. Rgg regulators act by binding to the promoter region of their

target genes [10–13]. At their N-terminal end, they carry a Helix-Turn-Helix (HTH) XRE DNA-binding domain demonstrated to be important for their activity as transcriptional regulators [14]. They are positive regulator [15, 16] or act both as activator and repressor [17, 18]. Most of the Rgg regulators control the transcription of their neighboring genes [9, 16, Selleck Quisinostat 19, 20]. However, Rgg from S. pyogenes NZ131, S. agalactiae NEM316 or S. suis SS2 are considered as global regulators since controlling highly diverse genes scattered on the genome [12, 13, 21, 22]. In these cases,

Rgg proteins are involved in a network of regulation and modulate the expression of other transcriptional regulators, including several two-component regulatory systems, which are important in the transcriptional response to changing environments [12, 13, 21]. Several Rgg proteins contribute to bacterial stress response. For instance, the Rgg protein of Lactocccus lactis, also known as GadR, is Sotrastaurin associated with glutamate-dependent acid tolerance [15]. Within Streptococcus, several Rgg proteins have been involved in oxidative- and/or to thermal-stress responses [23–25]. The high number of rgg genes observed in the genomes of S. thermophilus strains (7 in strains LMG18311 and CNRZ1066, 6 in LMD-9 and 5 in ND03) [26–28] suggests that their acquisition and their preservation are advantageous for S. thermophilus. However, the involvement of these genes in S. thermophilus LMG18311 Fenbendazole stress response is still hypothetic and none of the 7 rgg genes of LMG18311 has been studied at the molecular level. To determine

whether any of the rgg genes of S. thermophilus LMG18311 are involved in adaptation to changes in environmental conditions, Δrgg deletion mutant was constructed and its tolerance to different stresses was tested. In this study, we demonstrate that (i) the transcription of rgg 0182 gene from S. thermophilus LMG18311 is influenced by culture medium and growth temperature, (ii) Rgg0182 is a transcriptional regulator that modulate not only the transcription of its proximal target genes but is also involved in the network of regulation of the transcription of genes coding chaperones and proteases, (iii) this gene is involved in heat shock response. Results Analysis of the rgg 0182 locus The rgg 0182 gene corresponds to the stu0182 gene of the complete genome sequence of S. thermophilus LMG18311 [26].

Here we performed a systematic meta-analysis of all studies published to date to determine and assess the strength of the association between circulating levels of IGF- I and IGFBP-3 and lung cancer. It may be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Methods Search strategy and study selection PubMed and Embase were searched using the search terms: “”insulin-like growth factor-I”", “”lung neoplasm”", “”case-control study”", “”cohort study”" and “”prospective study”" (last search was updated on 1 March 2009). All eligible studies were see more retrieved, and their bibliographies were checked for other relevant publications. Review articles

and bibliographies of other relevant studies identified were hand-searched to find additional eligible studies. These searches were restricted to studies in which IGF-I and IGFBP-3 concentration were measured. Two investigators independently reviewed all potentially relevant articles. Disagreement or uncertainty between 2 investigators was resolved by discussion. Inclusion was restricted to nested case-control studies and prospective cohort studies published in English. Data extraction Data were independently abstracted in duplicate by 2 investigators using a standard protocol and data-collection form. BYL719 nmr Characteristics abstracted from the studies included name of the first author, location of the study,

year of publication, case definition, control definition, selection criteria, method of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 measurement, confounding factors

that were controlled for by matching or adjustment and mean and standard deviation (SD) of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in each group, odds ratio (OR) comparing the highest Tolmetin category to the lowest and its 95% confidence interval(CI). For data not provided in tabular form or the main text, the required information were obtained by contacting corresponding authors as possible as we can. Statistical analysis Most of studies provided crude and adjusted OR. We used the adjusted OR comparing the highest category with the lowest as the check details principal effect measure in our meta-analysis. The cutoff values for these categories were based on control groups, which better represented the distribution of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in the general population. The adjusted ORs and their 95% confidence intervals were abstracted directly from the publications. We also used the weighted mean difference (WMD) to compare circulating levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 of lung cancer cases with that of their controls. Heterogeneity assumption was checked by the chi-square-based Q test [20]. A P value > 0.10 for the Q test indicates a lack of heterogeneity among studies, so the pooled OR estimate of the each study was calculated by the fixed-effects model (the Mantel-Haenszel method) [21]. Otherwise, the random- effects model (the DerSimonian and Laird method) was used [22].

DEC isolates were further characterised for their antimicrobial susceptibility and extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production. In addition, the EPEC isolates were characterised for their serotypes and intimin GANT61 in vitro subtypes [6]. Methods Subjects The subjects included 537 consecutive children hospitalised with acute diarrhoea (defined as three or more loose stools during a 24 h period with selleckchem duration of diarrhoea ≤ 14 days) and 113 control children without diarrhoea. The diarrhoeal children were hospitalised because of dehydration. The children

were up to five years of age and were recruited from Al-Adan Hospital (AH) or Al-Farwaniya Hospital (FH), Kuwait, during August 2005 to March 2007. Control children were admitted for non-gastrointestinal illnesses, but were matched for corresponding age of the diarrhoeal children. The children had not taken antibiotics prior to hospital admission and there was no follow-up of them after stool sample collection. Informed oral consent was given by the parents or guardians of children for the study as per local institutional guidelines. Stool samples A fresh stool specimen was collected from children with diarrhoea, and from control children without diarrhoea, as soon as after admission. It was promptly sent to the Microbiology Laboratory of each hospital where it was

cultured on MacConkey agar (Oxoid, Basingstoke, UK). The plate was incubated at 37°C for 24 h. The next day, the MacConkey plate (Oxoid) and the stool specimen were sent in a refrigerated box to Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University. Detection of DEC Entire E. Sepantronium molecular weight coli growth from MacConkey plate (including both many lactose fermenting and non-lactose fermenting colonies) was transferred to Luria broth (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) containing 30% (vol/vol) glycerol, which was then frozen at -70°C until studied for detection of ETEC, EPEC, EIEC, EHEC and EAEC by PCR assays as described by Robins-Browne et al [7]. For detection of these DEC, a loopful of the frozen culture was grown in 2.5 ml of MacConkey broth (Oxoid) in a shaker incubator at 37°C overnight. The pelleted bacterial

growth was washed in 1 ml of phosphate buffered saline (PBS)(pH, 7.2), resuspended in 200 μl sterile distilled water, and boiled for 10 min. After cooling on ice, bacteria were pelleted by centrifugation and supernatant stored for ≤ 1 week at -20°C before use. PCR reaction was carried out in a total volume of 25 μl using 5 μl of thawed supernatant diluted 1: 5 in PBS (pH, 7.2) as the template in all PCR reactions. Initially, the presence of E. coli was checked by PCR reaction for lacZ gene [7]. If positive, then PCR assays for DEC were carried out. The primers and the PCR conditions corresponded to lac Z gene [7], eltA and estA genes (for ETEC), bfpA and eaeA genes (for EPEC), stx1and stx2 genes (for EHEC), and AggA gene (for EAEC) [7] and ipH gene (for EIEC) [8].

To select sequences that would target Igl1 and Igl2

both separately and simultaneously, those portions of their coding sequences which were identical or divergent were input separately, while the entire coding sequence of URE3-BP was used to select siRNA sequences. For EhC2A the portion of the gene sequence Selleckchem JNJ-26481585 selected for targeting was the poly-proline region (bases 301–567) since this region is least similar Selleck A-1331852 to the other gene family members. From the pool of selected 21 mer sequences, those with runs of more than 4 As or Ts were eliminated, and those with GC content between 30% and 50% were lengthened to 29 bp by adding the next eight bases in the genomic sequence. The TIGR E. histolytica Genome Project database [52] was used to check that each 29-bp sequence was unique to its gene, Lorlatinib mouse with non-unique ones eliminated. A minimum of four unique sequences were selected

per gene. To create a scrambled control sequence, one of the selected sequences was chosen, and the bases were scrambled (each began with the AA dinucleotide); these sequences were then checked to confirm they matched nothing in the E. histolytica genome. In addition, a sequence targeted to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was included as a control [30]. The chosen sequences, those ultimately transfected into E. histolytica HM1:IMSS trophozoites, are ifoxetine shown in Table 1. Constructs that did not successfully transfect are not shown. shRNA primer design Primers were designed based

on the method used by Gou et al (2003) [30] to yield PCR-generated shRNA constructs in a 2-step PCR process diagrammed in Figure 1. The final PCR product contained the E. histolytica U6 promoter followed by the sense strand of the hairpin, the 9 bp loop (TTCAAGAGA) [28], the antisense strand of the hairpin, and the U6 terminator sequence [30]. An ApaI restriction site (GGGCCC) was included between the 3′ end of the U6 promoter and the beginning of the shRNA sequence [30]. To facilitate cloning of the PCR product into the expression vector, a HindIII site was added to the 5′ end of the U6 promoter sequence, and a NotI site was added following the terminator sequence. The selected siRNA sequences, shown in Table 1, were used to design oligos to create shRNAs. Two rounds of PCR were employed to generate the final shRNA constructs, using one forward primer and two reverse primers, whose sequences are listed in Table 2. In the first round of PCR, the E. histolytica U6 promoter followed by the sense strand and the loop were generated using a forward primer amplifying the 5′ end of the U6 promoter and a first reverse primer containing the sequence of the sense strand of the shRNA and the future loop (Figure 1A, Table 2).

Hexagonal-shaped NSs are formed which extends to a length of few microns and then narrows like sharpening the pencil and PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitor 3 purchase ultimately leads to an elongated core which appears like an exposed

core of pencil. At a glance, having an interesting tail for every structure APR-246 can be observed. The tails look flexible since some are bent like hook while others look slightly bent only. Actually, the NSs are in the process of forming a well-defined shape. It is very likely that the dopant concentration was less than required for the formation of well-defined hexagonal shape. However, the shape itself appears thought-provoking and invites lots of curiosity and zeal for further investigation.Viewing image Figure 6d, it can be well established that a perfect hexagonal NSs looking ‘pencil-like’ have been formed. It can be considered that

2.4 at.% were the possible optimum selleck chemicals dopant concentration for the synthesis of the NS. The randomly oriented NS appear well formed and near uniform in size and length. From the EDX analysis, it can be confirmed that Al has been doped into the structure. EDX result shows that 0.08 at.% Al is present in the NS synthesized which can be known from Figure 6b. The sample mapping also indicates that 0.13 at.% Al is present in the sample. To the best of our knowledge, no previous results exhibit such morphology fabricated by thermal evaporation method. Table 1 Varying dopant concentrations during at constant temperature, growth time, and flow rate of O 2 Number Growth time

(min) Growth temperature (°C) Flow rate of O2gas (sccm) Dopant concentration (at.%) 1 120 700 200 0 2 120 700 200 0.6 3 120 700 200 1.2 4 120 700 200 2.4 5 120 700 200 4.7 6 120 700 200 11.3 Figure 6 Comparative SEM images of undoped and Al doped ZnO nanowires. (a) 0 at.% Al (undoped), (b) 0.6 at.% Al, (c) 1.2 at.% Al, (d) 2.4 at.% Al, (e) 4.7 at.% Al, and (f) 11.3 at.% Al. When the dopant concentration exceeds beyond 2.4 at.%, the perfect hexagonal shape of the NS are lost. It appears cylindrical in shape with a needle-like extensions from the tips of NRs. The base of NRs appears larger than the tip although at a constant temperature which otherwise if the reaction temperature was raised, the nanowires became thicker because of the enhanced lateral growth [6]. Along with, undefined structures appear in which some look spiky and thorny and others may be nanosheets as in Figure 6e,f which corresponds to 4.7 at.% and 11.3 at.% dopant concentrations, respectively. In the work of Chen et al. [7], further introduction of more Al ions (6 at.%), they obtained network-like nanosheets rather than tubes and rods which was the case for lower dopant concentrations. It is noticeable that beyond 2.4 at.% dopant concentration, it does not contribute to good structural properties of ZnO:Al NWs. We are not very sure if such structures with spiky shapes will have any practical use in any field. ZnO NSs doped with 3 at.