Impact of firing on surface passivation of p-Si by SiO2/Al and SiO2/SiNx/Al stacks

Firing impacts on surface passivation provided by a SiO2 and SiO2/SiNx stack with evaporated Al films are studied by capacitance-based techniques on MIS capacitors. For devices with insulator layers consisting solely of as-deposited SiO2, the densities of either interface states (Dit) or fixed charges (Qfc) are hardly influenced by firing. Capping the SiO2 layer with a SiNx layer results in a shift of the peak activation energy of Dit toward the valence band (Ev) of Si. Firing this SiO2/SiNx stack leads to an increase of Qfc, a reduction of Dit, and a moderate shift of peak activation energy of Dit toward Ev. Co-firing with the Al film on top significantly reduces the Qfc, Dit, and Dit peak activation energy, which is resulting from the atomic hydrogen passivation. These results are of particular interest for the development of solar cells with rear surface passivation and local contacts

Cancer-ID:Toward Identification of Cancer by Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Blood

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have great potential as biomarkers since their composition and concentration in biofluids are disease state dependent and their cargo can contain disease-related information. Large tumor-derived EVs (tdEVs, >1μm) in blood from cancer patients are associated with poor outcome, and changes in their number can be used to monitor therapy effectiveness. Whereas, small tumor-derived EVs (<1μm) are likely to outnumber their larger counterparts, thereby offering better statistical significance, identification and quantification of small tdEVs are more challenging. In the blood of cancer patients, a subpopulation of EVs originate from tumor cells, but these EVs are outnumbered by non-EV particles and EVs from other origin. In the Dutch NWO Perspectief Cancer-ID program, we developed and evaluated detection and characterization techniques to distinguish EVs from non-EV particles and other EVs. Despite low signal amplitudes, we identified characteristics of these small tdEVs that may enable the enumeration of small tdEVs and extract relevant information. The insights obtained from Cancer-ID can help to explore the full potential of tdEVs in the clinic

In Vitro Effect of Porphyromonas gingivalis Methionine Gamma Lyase on Biofilm Composition and Oral Inflammatory Response

Methanethiol (methyl mercaptan) is an important contributor to oral malodour and periodontal tissue destruction. Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia and Fusobacterium nucleatum are key oral microbial species that produce methanethiol via methionine gamma lyase (mgl) activity. The aim of this study was to compare an mgl knockout strain of P. gingivalis with its wild type using a 10-species biofilm co-culture model with oral keratinocytes and its effect on biofilm composition and inflammatory cytokine production. A P. gingivalis mgl knockout strain was constructed using insertion mutagenesis from wild type W50 with gas chromatographic head space analysis confirming lack of methanethiol production. 10-species biofilms consisting of Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus intermedius, Fusobacterium nucleatum ssp polymorphum, Fusobacterium nucleatum ssp vincentii, Veillonella dispar, Actinomyces naeslundii, Prevotella intermedia and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans with either the wild type or mutant P. gingivalis were grown on Thermanox cover slips and used to stimulate oral keratinocytes (OKF6-TERT2), under anaerobic conditions for 4 and 24 hours. Biofilms were analysed by quantitative PCR with SYBR Green for changes in microbial ecology. Keratinocyte culture supernatants were analysed using a multiplex bead immunoassay for cytokines. Significant population differences were observed between mutant and wild type biofilms; V. dispar proportions increased (p&lt;0.001), whilst A. naeslundii (p&lt;0.01) and Streptococcus spp. (p&lt;0.05) decreased in mutant biofilms. Keratinocytes produced less IL-8, IL-6 and IL-1α when stimulated with the mutant biofilms compared to wild type. Lack of mgl in P. gingivalis has been shown to affect microbial ecology in vitro, giving rise to a markedly different biofilm composition, with a more pro-inflammatory cytokine response from the keratinocytes observed. A possible role for methanethiol in biofilm formation and cytokine response with subsequent effects on oral malodor and periodontitis is suggested

Beoordeling ziekenhuisfusies door ACM: staat de consument wel echt centraal?

De Nederlandse ziekenhuissector consolideert in rap tempo. Onder meer omdat de Autoriteit Consument &amp; Markt (ACM) tot op heden alle ziekenhuisfusies goedkeurt. In dit artikel wordt aan de hand van een recent goedkeuringsbesluit, dat exemplarisch is voor de huidige toepassingspraktijk, uiteengezet dat de wijze waarop ACM ziekenhuisfusies beoordeelt niet aan de rechtmatigheidsvereisten van artikel 41 lid 2 Mw voldoet