Wild Nutrition’s Food-Grown® Magnesium Supplementation Increases Sleep Quality and Sleep Duration and Reduces Stress in a Healthy Adult Population: A Double-Blind, Randomised, Placebo-Controlled Study

Background: Magnesium, an essential mineral crucial for various bodily functions, has been shown to positively influence sleep patterns. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Food-Grown® magnesium in enhancing sleep quality and duration, as well as overall well-being. Methods: Eighty participants were randomly assigned to receive either 80 mg of Food-Grown® magnesium or a placebo (microcrystalline cellulose) daily for 8 weeks. Participants completed questionnaires assessing sleep quality, daytime drowsiness, quality of life, anxiety, and stress levels. Additionally, participants maintained daily sleep diaries and wore wrist-worn actigraphy devices. The primary outcome measured was the change in sleep quality and duration. Results: Seventy-one participants fulfilled all study requirements (35 in the active group and 36 in the placebo group). Magnesium supplementation significantly improved reported sleep quality, with the active group showing a 32% increase compared to 16% in the placebo group (p = 0.034). Moreover, magnesium supplementation led to a decrease in reported stress scores at week 8 compared to the placebo group (3.7 ± 2.6 vs. 5.5 ± 3.1, respectively). Both the magnesium and placebo groups exhibited significant increases in reported sleep duration and reductions in time to fall asleep, sleep disturbance, sleep latency, sleep medication usage, and total Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score at week 8 compared to baseline. Conclusion: Magnesium supplementation notably enhanced sleep quality and reduced stress levels compared to the placebo group. These findings highlight the potential of magnesium as a beneficial supplement for improving sleep quality and overall well-being.

Electrochemically Grown Ultrathin Platinum Nanosheet Electrodes with Ultralow Loadings for Energy-Saving and Industrial-Level Hydrogen Evolution

Nanostructured catalyst-integrated electrodes with remarkably reduced catalyst loadings,high catalyst utilization and facile fabrication are urgently needed to enable cost-effective,green hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells(PEMECs).Herein,benefitting from a thin seeding layer,bottom-up grown ultrathin Pt nanosheets(Pt-NSs)were first deposited on thin Ti substrates for PEMECs via a fast,template-and surfactant-free electrochemical growth process at room temperature,showing highly uniform Pt surface coverage with ultralow loadings and vertically well-aligned nanosheet morphologies.Combined with an anode-only Nafion 117 catalyst-coated membrane(CCM),the Pt-NS electrode with an ultralow loading of 0.015 mgPt cm−2 demonstrates superior cell performance to the commercial CCM(3.0 mgPt cm^(−2)),achieving 99.5%catalyst savings and more than 237-fold higher catalyst utilization.The remarkable performance with high catalyst utilization is mainly due to the vertically well-aligned ultrathin nanosheets with good surface coverage exposing abundant active sites for the electrochemical reaction.Overall,this study not only paves a new way for optimizing the catalyst uniformity and surface coverage with ultralow loadings but also provides new insights into nanostructured electrode design and facile fabrication for highly efficient and low-cost PEMECs and other energy storage/conversion devices.

Raised bed planting promotes grain number per spike in wheat grown after rice by improving spike differentiation and enhancing photosynthetic capacity

The yield of wheat in wheat–rice rotation cropping systems in the Yangtze River Plain, China, is adversely impacted by waterlogging. A raised bed planting(RBP) pattern may reduce waterlogging and increase the wheat yield after rice cultivation by improving the grain number per spike. However, the physiological basis for grain formation under RBP conditions remains poorly understood. The present study was performed over two growing seasons(2018/2019and 2019/2020) to examine the effects of the planting pattern(i.e., RBP and flat planting(FP)) on the floret and grain formation features and leaf photosynthetic source characteristics of wheat. The results indicated that implementation of the RBP pattern improved the soil–plant nitrogen(N) supply during floret development, which facilitated balanced floret development, resulting in a 9.5% increase in the number of fertile florets per spike. Moreover, the RBP pattern delayed wheat leaf senescence and increased the photosynthetic source capacity by 13.9%, which produced more assimilates for grain filling. Delayed leaf senescence was attributed to the resultant high leaf N content and enhanced antioxidant metabolism. Correspondingly, under RBP conditions, 7.6–8.6% more grains per spike were recorded, and the grain yield was ultimately enhanced by 10.4–12.7%. These results demonstrate that the improvement of the spike differentiation process and the enhancement of the leaf photosynthetic capacity were the main reasons for the increased grain number per spike of wheat under the RBP pattern, and additional improvements in this technique should be achievable through further investigation.

Microstructure of flow pattern defects in boron-doped Czochralski-grown silicon

The morphology and microstructure of flow pattern defects （FPDs） in lightly boron-doped Czochralski-grown silicon （Cz-Si） crystals were investigated using optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The experimental results showed that the morphology of FPDs was parabola-like with several steps. Single-type and dual-type voids were found on the tip of FPDs and two heaves exist on the left and right sides of the void. All the results have proved that FPDs were void-type defects. These results are very useful to investigate FPDs in Cz-Si wafers further and explain the annihilation of FPDs during high-temperature annealing.

Antihyperglycemic and antioxidant effects of Solanum xanthocarpum leaves(field grown & in vitro raised) extracts on alloxan induced diabetic rats

Objective:To investigate antidiabetic efficacy of the extract of field grown and in vitro raised leaves of Solanum xanthocarpum(S.xanthocarpum) against alloxan induced diabetic rats. Methods:The antidiabetic activity of the crude methanol extracts of the field grown and in vitro raised leaves of S.xanthocarpum at different concentrations(100-200 mg/kg bw) was tested against alloxan induced diabetic rats.The antidiabetic efficacy was validated through various biochemical parameters and the antioxidant effect was also determined.The phytochemical analyses of field grown S.xanthocarpum and in vitro rasied 5.xanthocarpum leaves were done by estimating their chlorophyll,carotenoids,total sugar,protein,amino acid and minerals contents. Results:The results revealed that the methanol extracts of both the leaves(field grown and in vitro raised) of S.xanthocarpum was efficient anti hyperglycemic agents at a concentration of 200 mg/kg bw and posses potent antioxidant activity.However,the extracts of in vitro rasied S.xanthocarpum raised leaves exhibit higher efficacy than the field grown leaves in all tested concentrations.Proximal composition and mineral analysis of S.xanthocarpum revealed higher concentration of contents in in vitro rasied S.xanthocarpum than field grown S.xanthocarpum. Conclusions:From the results it can be concluded that the leaves extracts of S.xanthocarpum can be a potential candidate in treating the hyperglycemic conditions and suits to be an agent to reduce oxidative stress.

Influence of Surface Structures on Quality of CdTe(100) Thin Films Grown on GaAs(100) Substrates

We report the epitaxial growth of single-crystalline Cd Te（100） thin films on Ga As（100） substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. By controlling the substrate pre-heated temperature with adjustable Te flux, three different reconstructed surfaces are realized, and their influence on the subsequent Cd Te growth is investigated. More importantly, we find that both the presence of a thin native oxide layer and the formation of Ga-As-Te bonds at the interface enable the growth along the（100） orientation and help to reduce the threading dislocations and other defects. Our results provide new opportunities for compound semiconductor heterogeneous growth via interfacial engineering.

Fracture Mechanics,Crack Propagation and Microhardness Studies on Flux Grown ErAlO_3 Single Crystals

Results on fracture mechanics and crack propagation have been obtained, making use of Vickers microhardness studies on two different crystallographic planes [(110) and (001)] of flux grown erbium aluminate crystals in the load ranging from 10-100 g. The variation of microhardness with load which is best explained by Hays and Kendall's law leads to the load independent values of hardness. Classification of cracks is dealt with and it is reported that the transition from Palmqvist to median types of cracks occurs at higher loads. The values of fracture toughness (K_C), and brittleness index (B_i) are calculated using median types of cracks.

Chemical Forms of Selenium in Corn and Rice Grown in a High Selenium Area of China

The chemical forms of selenium were determined in maize grown near Yutangba Village and in rice grown near Haubei village, Exi Prefecture, Enshi county of Hubei Province, China. The maize sample contained 18 ppm and the rice samples an average of 3.6 ppm selenium. After they were ground to obtain a fine flour, this was acid hydrolyzed with hydrochloric acid in an inert atmosphere and the hydrolyzates chromatographed on columns of Dionex DC6A resin. The results indicate that the majority of the selenium is present as selenomethionine in both rice and corn.

Influence of Al Preflow Time on Surface Morphology and Quality of AlN and GaN on Si(111) Grown by MOCVD

We investigate the influence of A1 preflow time on surface morphology and quality of AIN and GaN. The AIN and GaN layers are grown on a Si （111） substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, x-ray diffraction and optical microscopy are used for analysis. Consequently, we find significant differences in the epitaxial properties of AlN buffer and the GaN layer, which are dependent on the AI preflow time. A1 preflow layers act as nucleation sites in the case of AiN growth. Compact and uniform AIN nucleation sites are observed with optimizing A1 preflow at an early nucleation stage, which will lead to a smooth AIN surface. Trenches and AlN grain clusters appear on the AIN surface while meltoback etching occurs on the GaN surface with excessive A1 preflow. The GaN quality variation keeps a similar trend with the AIN quality, which is influenced by AI preflow. With an optimized duration orAl preflow, crystal quality and surface morphology of AIN and GaN could be improved.

Enrichment of the less polar ginsenoside (Rg3) from ginseng grown in New Zealand by post-harvest processing and extraction

Background:Previous studies showed that New Zealand-grown ginseng contains an abundance of ginsenosides and that rare less polar ginsenosides,such as Rg3,exhibit more pharmacological activities than polar ginsenosides,which are the major components of ginseng.Methods:The ginsenoside profile of New Zealand-grown Panax ginseng was manipulated by treatment with acetic acid,sodium hydroxide,pH,and high temperature.The abundance of 23 ginsenosides extracted by different treatments was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography.Results:Treatment with 0.5 mol/L acetic acid can stimulate the degradation of polar ginsenosides to less polar ginsenosides(5.6%Rg3 was accumulated,P<0.0001).Furthermore,when ginseng root was treated at 121℃ for 100 min in a pH 3.0 acetic acid aqueous solution,the majority of the polar ginsenosides were converted into less polar ginsenosides.Specifically,83.46±3.69%(P=0.0360)of the less polar ginsenosides and 41.01±2.39%(P=0.0412)of Rg3 were enriched.In contrast,alkali treatment did not convert the polar ginsenosides into less polar ginsenosides at mild temperature and less conversion was observed compared with acid treatment at high temperature.Conclusion:This is the first attempt to manipulate the ginsenoside profile of New Zealand-grown ginseng.The conditions(high temperature with low pH)may be modified to produce and enrich the less polar ginsenoside fraction(especially Rg3)from the total ginseng extract.

Comparison of GaN/AlGaN/AlN/GaN HEMTs Grown on Sapphire with Fe-Modulation-Doped and Unintentionally Doped GaN Buffer:Material Growth and Device Fabrication

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors （HEMTs） grown on Fe-modulation-doped （MD） and unintentionally doped （UID） GaN buffer layers are investigated and compared. Highly resistive GaN buffers （10^9Ω·cm） are induced by individual mechanisms for the electron traps＇ formation： the Fe MD buffer （sample A） and the UID buffer with high density of edge-type dislocations （7.24×10^9cm^-2, sample B）. The 300K Hall test indicates that the mobility of sample A with Fe doping （2503cm^2V^-1s^-1） is much higher than sample B （1926cm^2V^-1s^-1） due to the decreased scattering effect on the two-dimensional electron gas. HEMT devices are fabricated on the two samples and pulsed I–V measurements are conducted. Device A shows better gate pinch-off characteristics and a higher threshold voltage （-2.63V） compared with device B （-3.71V）. Lower gate leakage current ｜IGS｜ of device A （3.32×10^-7A） is present compared with that of device B （8.29×10^-7A）. When the off-state quiescent points Q_2 （V GQ2=-8V, V DQ2=0V） are on, V th hardly shifts for device A while device B shows ＋0.21V positive threshold voltage shift, resulting from the existence of electron traps associated with the dislocations in the UID-GaN buffer layer under the gate. Under pulsed I–V and transconductance G m–V GS measurement, the device with the Fe MD-doped buffer shows more potential in improving reliability upon off-state stress.

Temperature-Dependent Photoluminescence Characteristics of InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots Directly Grown on Si Substrates

The first operation of an electrically pumped 1.3μm InAs/GaAs quantum-dot laser was previously reported epitaxially grown on Si （100） substrate. Here the direct epitaxial growth condition of 1.3μm InAs/OaAs quantum on a Si substrate is further investigated using atomic force microscopy, etch pit density and temperature-dependent photoluminescence （PL） measurements. The PL for Si-based InAs/GaAs quantum dots appears to be very sensitive to the initial OaAs nucleation temperature and thickness with strongest room-temperature emission at 40000 （17Onto nucleation layer thickness）, due to the lower density of defects generated under this growth condition, and stronger carrier confinement within the quantum dots.

Characteristics of In_(0.52)Al_(0.48)As Grown on InP(100) Substrates by Molecular Beam Epitaxy: Growth Optimisation and Effects of Si Doping

Growth of In0.52Al0.48As epilayers on InP (100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy at a wide range of substrate tempreatures (470~550℃) and at different Si doping levels has been carried out. Low temperature photoluminescence (PL) and double-axis X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses shaw a strong dependence of the PL and XRD linewidths, XRD intensity ratio (Lepi/Isub), and lattice-mismatch on the substrate temperature. The X-ray diffraction peaks of samples grown at law temperatures show a composition of smaller peaks, indicating the presence of disorder due to alloy clustering. Raman scattering measurements of the same samples show an additional higher energy mode at 273 cm-1 in addition to the InAs-like and AlAs-like longitudinal-optic (LO) phonon modes. Samples doped with Si show an inverted S-shaped dependence of the PL peak energy variation with the temperature which weakens at high doping levels due to a possible reduction in the donor binding energy. Supported be observations of a reduction in both the AlAs-like and InAs-like LO phonon frequencies and a broadening of the LO phonon line shape as the doping level is increased, the PL intensity also shows in increasing degrees at higher doping levels, a temperature dependence which is characteristic of disordered and amorphous materials.

GaInP/GaInAs/GaInNAs/Ge Four-Junction Solar Cell Grown by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition with High Efficiency

We directly grow a lattice matched GalnP/GalnAs/GalnNAs/Ge （1.88 eVil .42 eVil .05 eV/0.67eV） four-junction （4J） solar cell on a Ge substrate by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition technology. To solve the current limit of the GalnNAs sub cell, we design three kinds of anti-reflection coatings and adjust the base region thickness of the GalnNAs sub cell. Developed by a series of experiments, the external quantum efficiency of the GalnNAs sub cell exceeds 80%, and its current density reaches 11.24 mA/cm2. Therefore the current limit of the 4J solar cell is significantly improved. Moreover, we discuss the difference of test results between 4J and GalnP/GalnAs/Ge solar cells under the 1 sun AMO spectrum.

Improved Semipolar(11(2|-)2) GaN Quality Grown on m-Plane Sapphire Substrates by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Using Self-Organized SiN_x Interlayer

The effect of a self-organized SiNs interlayer on the defect density of （1122） semipolar GaN grown on 7n-plane sapphire is studied by transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and high resolution x-ray diffrac- tion. The SiNx interlayer reduces the c-type dislocation density from 2.5 ×10^10 cm^-2 to 5 ×10^8 cm 2. The SiNx interlayer produces regions that are free from basal plane stacking faults （BSFs） and dislocations. The overall BSF density is reduced from 2.1×10^5 cm-1 to 1.3×10^4 cm^-1. The large dislocations and BSF reduction in semipolar （1122） GaN with the SiNx, interlayer result from two primary mechanisms. The first mechanism is the direct dislocation blocking by the SiNx interlayer, and the second mechanism is associated with the unique structure character of （1122） semipolar GaN.

High-Performance In0.23Ga0.77As Channel MOSFETs with High Current Ratio Ion/Ioff Grown on Semi-insulating GaAs Substrates by MOCVD

We demonstrate high-performance In0.23 Ga0.77 As channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors （ MOS- FETs） with high on-current to off-current （Ion/Ioff） ratio grown on semi-insulating GaAs wafers by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition （MOCVD）. The 2μm channel-length devices exhibit a peak extrinsic transeonductance of 150 mS/mm and a drain current up to 500 mA/mm. The maximum effective mobility is 1680 cm2/Vs extracted by the split C-V method. Furthermore, the Ion/Ioff ratio is significantly improved from approximately 4.5 × 10^3 up to approximately 4.32 × 10^4 by controlling the etch thickness of In0.49Ga0.51P, The high drain current and high Ion/Ioff ratio of the In0.23Ga0.77As channel MOSFETs are achieved due to the high effective mobility and the low gate leakage current density.

Effect of In_xGa_(1-x)As Interlayer on Surface Morphology and Optical Properties of GaSb/InGaAs Type-Ⅱ Quantum Dots Grown on InP (100) Substrates

The effects of indium composition in InGaAs interlayer and on optical properties of GaSb/InGaAs QD material on morphology of GaSb/InGaAs quantum dots （QDs） system are studied. AFM images show that the change of the indium composition in InGaAs interlayer can alter the GaSb QD morphology. It is found that low indium composition in InGaAs interlayer can promote the formation of QDs, while high indium composition can inhibit the formation of QDs. The photoluminescence （PL） spectra of GaSb/InGaAs QDs at 8 K under low excitation power indicate that the third root of the excitation power is linear with the peak position, which provides a direct evidence for their luminescence belonging to type-Ⅱ material optical transition. The PL spectra at 8 K under an excitation power of 90row show that the optical properties of GaSb/InGaAs QD material system can be affected by the indium composition in the InGaAs interlayer, and the PL peak position is linear with the indium composition. The optical properties of GaSb/InGaAs QDs can be improved by adjusting the indium composition in the InGaAs interlayer.

High-Quality and Strain-Relaxation GaN Epilayer Grown on SiC Substrates Using AIN Buffer and AlGaN Interlayer

We study the effect of the AlGaN interlayer on structural quality and strain engineering of the GaN films grown on SiC substrates with an AlN buffer layer, hnproved structural quality and tensile stress releasing are realized in unintentionally doped GaN thin films grown on 6H-SiC substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Using the optimized AlGaN interlayer, we find that the full width at half maximum of x-ray diffraction peaks for GaN decreases dramatically, indicating an improved crystalline quality. Meanwhile, it is revealed that the biaxial tensile stress in the GaN film is significantly reduced from the Raman results. Photoluminescence spectra exhibit a shift of the peak position of the near-band-edge emission, as well as the integrated intensity ratio variation of the near-band-edge emission to the yellow luminescence band. Thus by optimizing the AlGaN interlayer, we could acquire the high-quality and strain-relaxation GaN epilayer with large thickness on SiC substrates.

Inhomogeneity of Rare Earth Doped Ⅲ-Ⅴ Compounds Grown by LPE

The processing of InP, GaAs and related compounds doped with rare earth metals, such as Er, Nd and Gd, grown by LPE is described. The inhomogeneity of rare earth heavily doped epi-layers is studied by SIMS, SEM and X-ray diffraction techniques.

Analysis on Quality of Coptis chinensis Grown under Different Woods

[Objectives] To analyze the quality of Coptis chinensis grown under woods of Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils.,Platycladus orientalis( Linn.) Franco.,and Cunninghamia lanceolata( Lamb.). [Methods] The content of five kinds of alkaloids in C. chinensis grown under three different woods was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography( HPLC). Detection conditions: 0. 03 mol/L methanol and potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution( volume ratio of 65∶ 35) as the mobile phase,flow rate of 1. 0 mL/min,detection wavelength of 350 nm,and column temperature of 35℃. [Results] In these three woods,the quality of C. chinensis grown under P. orientalis woods was the highest. [Conclusions] This study is expected to provide certain references for cultivation and planting of C. chinensis under woods.