Antimicrobial and Anti-Thrombogenic Features Combined in Hydrophilic Surface Coatings for Skin-Penetrating Catheters. Synergy of Co-embedded Silver Particles and Heparin

Percutaneous (skin-penetrating) catheters such as central venous catheters (CVCs), are used ubiquitously in the treatment of critically ill patients, although it is known that the risks for serious complications, particularly bloodstream infection and thromboembolism, are high. Materials science and engineering offer important new perspectives regarding further improvement of CVCs. A promising approach is the use of synthetic biocompatible hydrogel coatings with both silver particles and heparin embedded therein. Such formulations combine the well-known broad-spectrum antimicrobial features of silver with the anticoagulant activity of immobilized heparin. Previous work revealed that heparin augments antimicrobial activity of silver, while maintaining its anticoagulant function. This study set out to investigate the synergy of heparin and silver in more detail. Exit-challenge tests, experiments on bacterial killing and adherence, as well as in vitro challenge tests with three Staphylococcus aureus strains (one reference strain, and two clinical isolates) consistently showed the synergistic effect. In addition, the impact of changing the coating's hydrophilicity, and changing the silver concentration in the. coatings, were examined. The experimental results, taken together and combined with data from the literature, point out that synergy of heparin and silver is best explained by binding of Ag+ ions to heparin within the swollen coating, followed by release of heparin-Ag+ complexes upon immersion of the coatings in an aqueous environment such as blood. Possible implications of this work regarding the development of improved/safer CVCs are briefly discussed

In-situ scanning electron microscope observation of electromigration-induced void growth in 30 nm 1/2 pitch Cu interconnect structures

In-situ electromigration tests have been performed inside a scanning electron microscope on 30 nm wide single damascene interconnects without vias, where a good resolution was obtained and drift velocities during void growth could be measured at 300 C. These tests showed direct evidence that the cathode end of the line, where a polycrystalline grain cluster encounters a bigger grain, can act as a flux divergent point of Cu diffusion. Moreover, it was found that a thicker barrier suppresses barrier/interface diffusivity of Cu atoms, thereby slowing down electromigration-induced void growth. It was also demonstrated that Cobalt based metal caps are beneficial to electromigration for advanced interconnects where thinner barriers are required.status: publishe

A quantitative portrait of three xylanase inhibiting protein families in different wheat cultivars using 2D-DIGE and multivariate statistical tools

Wheat grains contain three classes of xylanase inhibitors (XIs), i.e. TAXI (Triticum aestivum xylanase inhibitor), XIP (xylanase inhibiting protein) and TLXI (thaumatin-like xylanase inhibitor). These proteins are involved in plant defence and strongly affect cereal-based processes in which inhibitor-sensitive xylanases are used. This paper reports on the successful use of 2D-DIGE and tandem MS to discriminate XI (iso)forms and measures their qualitative and quantitative variation in six different wheat cultivars. In total, 18 TAXI-, 27 XIP- and 3 TLXI-type XI spots were identified. The multiple members of the large TAXI-gene family make a considerable contribution to the total TAXI population. For XIP-type XIs, XIP-I is expressed as the predominant form, albeit under variable degrees of PTMs. Only one TLXI genetic variant was identified, showing different degrees of glycosylation. Multiple comparison analysis revealed up to 5-fold intercultivar differences in protein level of XI (iso)forms. Evaluation of abundance patterns using multivariate statistical tools revealed highly distinctive as well as correlated levels of different XI forms among the six cultivars. As the constitutive (and induced) levels of the different XI (iso)forms, which are differentially regulated in response to various forms of stress in other wheat plant parts, considerably vary between the cultivars, it can be assumed that their degree of resistance against pathogenic attack differs. Similarities in abundance profiles between XI (iso)forms and pathogenesis-related chitinases are also in line with a role in plant defence.status: publishe

Venturia inaequalis trapped: molecular quantification of airborne inoculum using volumetric and rotating arm samplers

status: Published onlin

Automated Pathfinding tool chain for 3D-stacked integrated circuits: Practical case study

3DIC 2009info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

A Longitudinal Supra-Inguinal Fascia Iliaca Compartment Block Reduces Morphine Consumption After Total Hip Arthroplasty

The role of a fascia iliaca compartment block (FICB) for postoperative analgesia after total hip arthroplasty (THA) remains questionable. High-dose local anesthetics and a proximal injection site may be essential for successful analgesia. High-dose local anesthetics may pose a risk for local anesthetic systemic toxicity. We hypothesized that a high-dose longitudinal supra-inguinal FICB is safe and decreases postoperative morphine consumption after anterior approach THA.status: publishe

Matisse: A system-on-chip design methodology emphasizing dynamic memory management

MATISSE is a design environment intended for developing systems characterized by a tight interaction between control and data-flow behavior, intensive data storage and transfer, and stringent real-time requirements. Matisse bridges the gap from a system specification, using a concurrent object-oriented language, to an optimized embedded single-chip hardware/software implementation. Matisse supports stepwise exploration and refinement of dynamic memory management, memory architecture exploration, and gradual incorporation of timing constraints before going to traditional tools for hardware synthesis, software compilation, and inter-processor communication synthesis. With this approach, specifications of embedded systems can be written in a high-level programming language using data abstraction. Application of Matisse on telecom protocol processing systems in the ATM area shows significant improvements in area usage and power consumption. 1 Introduction The complexity of modern telecomm..