Tailoring TiO2/Al2O3 heterolayers as optical filters for the visible region.

Optical filters operating in the visible region of the spectrum are highly desired for applications ranging from optical communication and sensing to fluorescence microscopy and skin therapy. However, complex fabrication procedures and/or inferior performance, limit the practical applications of previously reported thin-film-based optical filters. Herein, we describe the structual design concepts and facile fabrication of vertically stacked heterolayers of TiO2/Al2O3 to obtain a bandpass filter and a longwave pass edge filter operating in the spectral range 410-600 nm and 400-597 nm, respectively. The optical filters are designed according to MacLeod simulation and fabricated via magnetron sputtering, depositing alternative stacks of low (Al2O3) and high (TiO2) refractive index materials with different thicknesses, as confirmed by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Owing to a reasonable matching between the design and the fabrication, our developed TiO2/Al2O3 heterolayer optical filters exhibited 54.60% transmission for 7-layer longwave pass edge filter and 15% reflectance for 14-layer bandpass filter of a selective set of wavelengths (400-800 nm).

Two novel mutations in exon 2 of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 15 gene in Pakistani infertile females.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of fertility in Pakistani infertile females and discover if there are considerable connection among BMP15 gene polymorphism, follicle maturation and hormonal regulation in Pakistani infertile females. METHODS: All selected participants were initially examined through follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), Prolactin, and Trans-vaginal scan (TVS). BMP15 gene polymorphism among infertile and fertile females was done by extracted Genomic DNA from whole blood. Sanger sequencing was performed for the identification of mutation in exons-intron boundaries of the BMP15 gene. Bioinformatics tools were used to assess the protein structure. RESULTS: The total five mutations including two novel missense variants of BMP15 in exon 2, whereas three previously reported i.e. two cosmic mutations (c.615delC), (c.584InsG) and one frame shift mutations (c.635delA) were also observed. The first novel mutation was found at (c.1038InsGG) (p.346Gln < Gly) in which the insertion of GG at DNA position 1038 of exon 2 resulting in a substitution of glutamine into glycine at 346th amino acid of BMP15 protein. The second novel variant (c.1049delT) (p. Ser334Pro) was also observed in exon 2 of the BMP15 gene, which substituted serine into proline at 334th amino acid of the BMP15 protein. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that there are various missense mutations present in exon 2 of the BMP15 gene of Pakistani infertile females, consequently expected function of protein changes due to change in codons of amino acids. Provean and SIFT suggest the two novel variants as potentially deleterious. Although three other variants were also found in Pakistani infertile females which were previously reported. These mutations may result in early blockage of folliculogenesis and ovaries become streaky. Further research is required to resolve the actual allusion of these variations in the BMP15 gene.