Damage effects to Si-SiO2 structures due to reactive ion etching

This thesis presents the damage effects to the Si ? SiO2 structures due to Reactive Ion Etching (RIE). The research was carried out on Si ? SiO2 MOS capacitors which were fabricated using RIE and wet etch (Hydrofluoric acid etch (HFE)) Process. The experiment was carried out using CV technique and Ellipsometry. Various electrical parameters were measured from CV *curves of these MOS capacitors. It was observed that the CV curve obtained for the RIE etched sample showed considerable deviation from that of the control sample. This indicates the presence of excess of interface trap charge density which have resulted due to the contamination of the silicon-oxide interface during etching. We have measured three different samples and the flatband voltage shift with respect to the control sample are -0.6290, -0.4265, and -0.0460 respectively. The shifting in the flatband voltage indicates that impurities due to radiation damage or metallic contamination, arising from the sputtering of the chamber wall during etching, are present in the interface. The RIE etched samples have also shown the presence of fast surface states which are recombination-generation centers resulting from the lattice disorder occttring near the interface during etching. High temperature annealing and hydrogen passivation can reduce the effects of these damages. The refractive index for both HF and RIE etched samples showed a difference of 0.014, 0.015, -0.001, and 0.009 respectively. This shows that any nature of disorder was not detected by the above measurement

Transformational Leadership and Creative Behavior Impact on Supply Chain Management: A Study of the Opinion of a Sample of Decision Makers in The Transportation, Distribution, And Materials Handling

Abstract - This paper examines the effect of managerial transformational leadership on supply chain organizational learning and supply chain correlation. We also assessed the impact of uncertainty in the working environment on these relationships. By integrating multiple perspectives on organizational behavior related to learning and leadership, we developed a research model and evaluated it using survey data. The results of this analysis support the concept that the direction of supply chain organization learning fully manages the relationship between transformational leadership and supply chain correlation. Also, uncertainty in the working environment positively manages the relationship between transformational leadership and supply chain learning. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of transformational leadership in the creative behavior of decision makers in the supply chain management of Directorate of Public Traffic. The research problem was formulated in several questions focused on the statement of impact among its variables. The research was based on a main hypothesis, which was subjected to several tests to ascertain its validity. In order to achieve the objectives of the research, a questionnaire was developed which included (30) items to collect the data from the intentional sample of the research, with a total of (70) questionnaires, and the number of questionnaires valid for the analysis (67) of the total distributed questionnaires. The statistical program (SPSS) was used to analyze the data. The results are the most important: to drive the transformational leadership (ideal influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual arousal, individual legalism), which together have a significant effect on the creative behavior of the research sample members, and thus increase the attention to the positive strengths that form the transformational leadership contributes to the support and development of creative behavior of the organization, in question, to keep pace with progress in their field

Policing unacceptable protest in England and Wales: A case study of the policing of anti-fracking protests

In recent years public order policing policy in England and Wales has undergone significant changes. A ‘human rights compliant’ model of protest policing has been developed since 2009 and this article makes a contribution to the body of academic work considering the impact of these changes on operational policing. Drawing upon a longitudinal case study of the policing of protests against ‘fracking’ in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2013-2014, the article contrasts post-2009 policy and academic discourses on protest policing with the experiences of anti-fracking protesters. To develop this assessment, the article also draws attention to previously unexplored definitions of acceptable and unacceptable protest set out by police in more recent policy, and considers the extent to which these definitions are reflected in the police response to anti-fracking protest. The article suggests that a police commitment to a human rights approach to protest facilitation is, at least in the case of anti-fracking protest, contingent on the focus and form of political activism

Traka yon kretyen pandan vwayaj li : adaptasyon liv “Pilgrim’s Progress" / John Bunyan

91 pages : illustrations ; 22 c

Blood RNA analysis can increase clinical diagnostic rate and resolve variants of uncertain significance

Purpose Diagnosis of genetic disorders is hampered by large numbers of variants of uncertain significance (VUSs) identified through next-generation sequencing. Many such variants may disrupt normal RNA splicing. We examined effects on splicing of a large cohort of clinically identified variants and compared performance of bioinformatic splicing prediction tools commonly used in diagnostic laboratories. Methods Two hundred fifty-seven variants (coding and noncoding) were referred for analysis across three laboratories. Blood RNA samples underwent targeted reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis with Sanger sequencing of PCR products and agarose gel electrophoresis. Seventeen samples also underwent transcriptome-wide RNA sequencing with targeted splicing analysis based on Sashimi plot visualization. Bioinformatic splicing predictions were obtained using Alamut, HSF 3.1, and SpliceAI software. Results Eighty-five variants (33%) were associated with abnormal splicing. The most frequent abnormality was upstream exon skipping (39/85 variants), which was most often associated with splice donor region variants. SpliceAI had greatest accuracy in predicting splicing abnormalities (0.91) and outperformed other tools in sensitivity and specificity. Conclusion Splicing analysis of blood RNA identifies diagnostically important splicing abnormalities and clarifies functional effects of a significant proportion of VUSs. Bioinformatic predictions are improving but still make significant errors. RNA analysis should therefore be routinely considered in genetic disease diagnostics

Child with Deletion 9p Syndrome Presenting with Craniofacial Dysmorphism, Developmental Delay, and Multiple Congenital Malformations

A 4-month-old Sri Lankan male child case with a de novo terminal deletion in the p22 → pter region of chromosome 9 is described. The child presented with craniofacial dysmorphism, developmental delay, and congenital malformations in agreement with the consensus phenotype. A distinctive feature observed in this child was complete collapse of the left lung due to malformation of lung tissue. Cytogenetic studies confirmed terminal deletion of the short arm of chromosome 9 distal to band p22 [46,XY,del(9)(p22 → pter)]. This is the first reported case of a de novo deletion 9p syndrome associated with pulmonary hypoplasia. This finding contributes to the widening of the spectrum of phenotypic features associated with deletion 9p syndrome

Facile synthesis and proposed mechanism of α,ω‐oxetanyl-telechelic poly(3-nitratomethyl-3-methyl oxetane) by an SN2(i) nitrato displacement method in basic media

The synthesis of a novel heterocyclic–telechelic polymer, α,ω-oxetanyl-telechelic poly(3-nitratomethyl-3-methyl oxetane), is described. Infrared spectroscopy (IR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy have been used to confirm the successful synthesis, demonstrating the presence of the telechelic-oxetanyl moieties. Synthesis of the terminal functionalities has been achieved via displacement of nitrato groups, in a manner similar to that employed with other leaving groups such as azido, bromo, and nitro, initiated by nucleophiles. In the present case, displacement occurs on the ends of a nitrato-functionalized polymer driven by the formation of sodium nitrate, which is supported by the polar aprotic solvent N,N-dimethyl formamide. The formation of an alkoxide at the polymer chain ends is favored and allows internal back-biting to the nearest carbon bearing the nitrato group, intrinsically in an SN2(i) reaction, leading to α,ω-oxetanyl functionalization. The telechelic-oxetanyl moieties have the potential to be cross-linked by chemical (e.g., acidic) or radiative (e.g., ultraviolet) curing methods without the use of high temperatures, usually below 100°C. This type of material was designed for future use as a contraband simulant, whereby it would form the predominant constituent of elastomeric composites comprising rubbery polymer with small quantities of solids, typically crystals of contraband substances, such as explosives or narcotics. This method also provides an alternative approach to ring closure and synthesis of heterocycles

The impact of curriculum hierarchies on the development of professional self in teaching: student-teachers of drama negotiating issues of subject status at the interface between drama and English

At the level of policy the relative ‘value’ of subjects is determined by their official curriculum designation, creating a hierarchy of learning within which particular subjects are categorised as optional to the educational experience of young people. This situation is well-illustrated by the marginalised position of drama in the National Curriculum for England and Wales in which drama appears as an adjunct to the ‘core’ subject English. Yet at school level drama has survived as a discrete and reasonably embedded subject. Drawing on questionnaire and interview data, I investigate the effects of this mismatch on the emergence of pedagogical content knowledge, linked to notions of professional self, in drama student-teachers at one university in the UK. Findings indicate that the student-teachers, whilst not entirely eschewing a less-regulated relationship between the two subjects, view the curriculum for English and its accompanying assessment regime as an inadequate host for drama. In addition, they regard teacher autonomy over curriculum content and pedagogy as indicative of a high degree of professional expertise. This suggests that a case can be made for re-evaluating the nature of the relationship between drama and English and its representation in policy-constructed curricula

Cortical injury in multiple sclerosis; the role of the immune system

The easily identifiable, ubiquitous demyelination and neuronal damage that occurs within the cerebral white matter of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been the subject of extensive study. Accordingly, MS has historically been described as a disease of the white matter. Recently, the cerebral cortex (gray matter) of patients with MS has been recognized as an additional and major site of disease pathogenesis. This acknowledgement of cortical tissue damage is due, in part, to more powerful MRI that allows detection of such injury and to focused neuropathology-based investigations. Cortical tissue damage has been associated with inflammation that is less pronounced to that which is associated with damage in the white matter. There is, however, emerging evidence that suggests cortical damage can be closely associated with robust inflammation not only in the parenchyma, but also in the neighboring meninges. This manuscript will highlight the current knowledge of inflammation associated with cortical tissue injury. Historical literature along with contemporary work that focuses on both the absence and presence of inflammation in the cerebral cortex and in the cerebral meninges will be reviewed