Contributions of gas-phase plasma chemistry to surface modifications and gas-surface interactions: investigations of fluorocarbon rf plasmas

2012 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.The fundamental aspects of inductively coupled fluorocarbon (FC) plasma chemistry were examined, with special emphasis on the contributions of gas-phase species to surface modifications. Characterization of the gas-phase constituents of single-source CF4-, C2F6-, C3F8-, and C3F6-based plasmas was performed using spectroscopic and mass spectrometric techniques. The effects of varying plasma parameters, including applied rf power (P) and system pressure (p) were examined. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy were employed to monitor the behavior of excited and ground CFx (x = 1,2) radicals, respectively. Mass spectrometric techniques, including ion energy analyses, elucidated behaviors of nascent ions in the FC plasmas. These gas-phase data were correlated with the net effect of substrate processing for Si and ZrO2 surfaces. Surface-specific analyses were performed for post-processed substrates via x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle goniometry. Generally, precursors with lower F/C ratios tended to deposit robust FC films of high surface energy. Precursors of higher F/C ratio, such as CF4, were associated with etching or removal of material from surfaces. Nonetheless, a net balance between deposition of FC moieties and etching of material exists for each plasma system. The imaging of radicals interacting with surfaces (IRIS) technique provided insight into the phenomena occurring at the interface of the plasma gas-phase and substrate of interest. IRIS results demonstrate that CFx radicals scatter copiously, with surface scatter coefficients, S, generally greater than unity under most experimental conditions. Such considerable S values imply surface-mediated production of the CFx radicals at FC-passivated sites. It is inferred that the primary route to surface production of CFx arises from energetic ion bombardment and ablation of surface FC films. Other factors which may influence the observed CFx scatter coefficient include the surface with which the radical interacts, the vibrational temperature (ΘV) of the radical in its gas phase, and radical interactions in the gas phase. The analyses of ΘV in particular were extended to diatomic radicals from other plasma sources, including nitric oxide and fluorosilane systems, to gauge the contributions of vibrational energy to surface reactivity. In general, a monotonic increase in S is observed for CF, NO, and SiF radicals with increasing ΘV. Preliminary results for mixed plasma precursor systems (i.e. FC/H2, FC/O2) indicate that the choice of feed gas additives has a profound effect on surface modification. Hydrogen additions tend to promote FC film deposition through scavenging of fluorine atoms, whereas oxygen consumes polymerizing species, thus favoring etching regimes. Time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy (TR-OES) studies of gas-phase species elucidate the mechanisms by which these processes occur. Ultimately, the work presented herein expands the fundamental chemical and physical understanding of fluorocarbon plasma systems

Aid in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Inferences of Secondary Emotions and Intergroup Helping

This research examines inferences about the emotional states of ingroup and outgroup victims after a natural disaster, and whether these inferences predict intergroup helping. Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck the southern United States, White and non-White participants were asked to infer the emotional states of an individualized Black or White victim, and were asked to report their intentions to help such victims. Overall, participants believed that an outgroup victim experienced fewer secondary, ‘uniquely human’ emotions (e.g. anguish, mourning, remorse) than an ingroup victim. The extent to which participants did infer secondary emotions about outgroup victims, however, predicted their helping intentions; in other words, those participants who did not dehumanize outgroup victims were the individuals most likely to report intentions to volunteer for hurricane relief efforts. This investigation extends prior research by: (1) demonstrating infraglobalhumanization of individualized outgroup members (as opposed to aggregated outgroups); (2) examining infrahumanization via inferred emotional states (as opposed to attributions of emotions as stereotypic traits); and (3) identifying a relationship between infra-humanization of outgroup members and reduced intergroup helping

A Relevant Pedagogy: Outcomes from a High School Sociology Research Practicum

Recently, there has been a growing interest in teaching sociology to high school students. Yet, unlike other academic fields that are well established in high school curricula, there are few well-known models of how to expose high schoolers to sociology. In this article, we assess one project designed to engage high school students with their sociological imagination through research and writing. In this project, students enrolled in a high school honors sociology course were paired with graduate student mentors at the [University] who offered guidance at each stage of the research process. Our assessment of this project highlights one model for high-school university collaboration while also illustrating the benefits of practicum-based independent research projects in addressing the needs of Latina/o high school students. Through interviews with students who have previously participated in the project, we demonstrate how this particular program developed hard and soft skills, increased students’ academic confidence, and fostered critical thinking by encouraging students to analyze issues pertinent to their own community

Chelyabinsk meteorite explains unusual spectral properties of Baptistina Asteroid Family

We investigated the spectral and compositional properties of Chelyabinsk meteorite to identify its possible parent body in the main asteroid belt. Our analysis shows that the meteorite contains two spectrally distinct but compositionally indistinguishable components of LL5 chondrite and shock blackened/impact melt material. Our X-ray diffraction analysis confirms that the two lithologies of the Chelyabinsk meteorite are extremely similar in modal mineralogy. The meteorite is compositionally similar to LL chondrite and its most probable parent asteroid in the main belt is a member of the Flora family. Intimate mixture of LL5 chondrite and shock blackened/impact melt material from Chelyabinsk provides a spectral match with (8) Flora, the largest asteroid in the Flora family. The Baptistina family and Flora family overlap each other in dynamical space. Mineralogical analysis of (298) Baptistina and 9 small family members shows that their surface compositions are similar to LL chondrites, although their absorption bands are subdued and albedos lower when compared to typical S-type asteroids. A range of intimate mixtures of LL5 chondrite and shock blackened/impact melt material from Chelyabinsk provides spectral matches for all these BAF members. We suggest that the presence of a significant shock/impact melt component in the surface regolith of BAF members could be the cause of lower albedo and subdued absorption bands. The parent asteroid of BAF was either a member of the Flora family or had the same basic composition as the Floras (LL Chondrite). The shock pressures produced during the impact event generated enough impact melt or shock blackening to alter the spectral properties of BAF, but keep the BAF composition largely unchanged.Comment: 48 pages, 11 figures, 7 table

Mitochondrial protein p26 BCL2 reduces growth factor requirements of NIH3T3 fibroblasts

The BCL2 (B cell lymphoma/leukemia-2) proto-oncogene encodes a 26-kDa protein that has been localized to the inner mitochondrial membrane and that has been shown to enhance the survival of some types of hematopoietic cells. Here we show that NIH3T3 fibroblasts stably transfected with a BCL2 expression plasmid exhibit reduced dependence on competence-inducing growth factors (platelet-derived growth factor, PDGF; epidermal growth factor, EGF) for initiation of DNA synthesis. The importance of BCL2 for growth factorinduced proliferation of these cells was further confirmed by the useage of BCL2 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides. The mechanisms by which overexpression of p26 BCL2 contributes to fibroblast proliferation are unknown, but do not involve alterations in: (a) the production of inositol triphosphates (IP3), (b) PDGF-induced transient elevations in cytosolic Ca2+ ions, or (c) the activity of protein kinase C enzymes in these transfected cells. The results imply that changes in mitochondrial functions play an important role in the early stages of the cell cycle that render 3T3 cells competent to respond to the serum progression factors that stimulate entry into S-phase.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29195/1/0000249.pd

Distributed Observer Network

The Distributed Observer network (DON) is a NASA-collaborative environment that leverages game technology to bring three-dimensional simulations to conventional desktop and laptop computers in order to allow teams of engineers working on design and operations, either individually or in groups, to view and collaborate on 3D representations of data generated by authoritative tools such as Delmia Envision, Pro/Engineer, or Maya. The DON takes models and telemetry from these sources and, using commercial game engine technology, displays the simulation results in a 3D visual environment. DON has been designed to enhance accessibility and user ability to observe and analyze visual simulations in real time. A variety of NASA mission segment simulations [Synergistic Engineering Environment (SEE) data, NASA Enterprise Visualization Analysis (NEVA) ground processing simulations, the DSS simulation for lunar operations, and the Johnson Space Center (JSC) TRICK tool for guidance, navigation, and control analysis] were experimented with. Desired functionalities, [i.e. Tivo-like functions, the capability to communicate textually or via Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) among team members, and the ability to write and save notes to be accessed later] were targeted. The resulting DON application was slated for early 2008 release to support simulation use for the Constellation Program and its teams. Those using the DON connect through a client that runs on their PC or Mac. This enables them to observe and analyze the simulation data as their schedule allows, and to review it as frequently as desired. DON team members can move freely within the virtual world. Preset camera points can be established, enabling team members to jump to specific views. This improves opportunities for shared analysis of options, design reviews, tests, operations, training, and evaluations, and improves prospects for verification of requirements, issues, and approaches among dispersed teams

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Communications Biophysics

Contains research objectives and summary of research on thirteen research projects split into four section.National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS10737-01)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 ROI NS10916-01)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 RO1 NS11000-02)National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS11153-01)Harvard M.I.T. Rehabilitation Engineering CenterU. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Grant 23-P-55854National Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS11680-01)Norlin Music, Inc.Clarence J. LeBel FundNational Institutes of Health (Grant 1 RO1 NS11080-01A1)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 TO1 GM01555-08)M.I.T. Health Sciences FundBoston City Hospital Purchase Order 1176-05-21335-C

Versatile Assays for High Throughput Screening for Activators or Inhibitors of Intracellular Proteases and Their Cellular Regulators

BACKGROUND: Intracellular proteases constitute a class of promising drug discovery targets. Methods for high throughput screening against these targets are generally limited to in vitro biochemical assays that can suffer many technical limitations, as well as failing to capture the biological context of proteases within the cellular pathways that lead to their activation. METHODS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; FINDINGS: We describe here a versatile system for reconstituting protease activation networks in yeast and assaying the activity of these pathways using a cleavable transcription factor substrate in conjunction with reporter gene read-outs. The utility of these versatile assay components and their application for screening strategies was validated for all ten human Caspases, a family of intracellular proteases involved in cell death and inflammation, including implementation of assays for high throughput screening (HTS) of chemical libraries and functional screening of cDNA libraries. The versatility of the technology was also demonstrated for human autophagins, cysteine proteases involved in autophagy. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, the yeast-based systems described here for monitoring activity of ectopically expressed mammalian proteases provide a fascile platform for functional genomics and chemical library screening

Effects of antiplatelet therapy after stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage (RESTART): a randomised, open-label trial

Background: Antiplatelet therapy reduces the risk of major vascular events for people with occlusive vascular disease, although it might increase the risk of intracranial haemorrhage. Patients surviving the commonest subtype of intracranial haemorrhage, intracerebral haemorrhage, are at risk of both haemorrhagic and occlusive vascular events, but whether antiplatelet therapy can be used safely is unclear. We aimed to estimate the relative and absolute effects of antiplatelet therapy on recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage and whether this risk might exceed any reduction of occlusive vascular events. Methods: The REstart or STop Antithrombotics Randomised Trial (RESTART) was a prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded endpoint, parallel-group trial at 122 hospitals in the UK. We recruited adults (≥18 years) who were taking antithrombotic (antiplatelet or anticoagulant) therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage, discontinued antithrombotic therapy, and survived for 24 h. Computerised randomisation incorporating minimisation allocated participants (1:1) to start or avoid antiplatelet therapy. We followed participants for the primary outcome (recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage) for up to 5 years. We analysed data from all randomised participants using Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusted for minimisation covariates. This trial is registered with ISRCTN (number ISRCTN71907627). Findings: Between May 22, 2013, and May 31, 2018, 537 participants were recruited a median of 76 days (IQR 29–146) after intracerebral haemorrhage onset: 268 were assigned to start and 269 (one withdrew) to avoid antiplatelet therapy. Participants were followed for a median of 2·0 years (IQR [1·0– 3·0]; completeness 99·3%). 12 (4%) of 268 participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had recurrence of intracerebral haemorrhage compared with 23 (9%) of 268 participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (adjusted hazard ratio 0·51 [95% CI 0·25–1·03]; p=0·060). 18 (7%) participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy experienced major haemorrhagic events compared with 25 (9%) participants allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (0·71 [0·39–1·30]; p=0·27), and 39 [15%] participants allocated to antiplatelet therapy had major occlusive vascular events compared with 38 [14%] allocated to avoid antiplatelet therapy (1·02 [0·65–1·60]; p=0·92). Interpretation: These results exclude all but a very modest increase in the risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage with antiplatelet therapy for patients on antithrombotic therapy for the prevention of occlusive vascular disease when they developed intracerebral haemorrhage. The risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage is probably too small to exceed the established benefits of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention