SOLUBILITY LIMIT OF DOPANTS IN SILICON IRRADIATED BY RUBY LASER

The solubility of several dopants (Sb, Ga, Bi, In) in laser treated silicon has been investigated. The dopants were introduced by vacuum deposition followed by a ruby laser irradiation. Their solubility was determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry measurements in channeling and random conditions. In all cases a solubility limit Cmℓ higher than the equilibrium solubility was found and a simple correlation with the equilibrium distribution coefficient kO could be established : Cmℓ = 8.6 × 1021 k0.51O cm-3

Fracture Roughness Scaling: a case study on planar cracks

Using a multi-resolution technique, we analyze large in-plane fracture fronts moving slowly between two sintered Plexiglas plates. We find that the roughness of the front exhibits two distinct regimes separated by a crossover length scale $\delta^*$. Below $\delta^*$, we observe a multi-affine regime and the measured roughness exponent $\zeta_{\parallel}^{-} = 0.60\pm 0.05$ is in agreement with the coalescence model. Above $\delta^*$, the fronts are mono-affine, characterized by a roughness exponent $\zeta_{\parallel}^{+} = 0.35\pm0.05$, consistent with the fluctuating line model. We relate the crossover length scale to fluctuations in fracture toughness and the stress intensity factor

INTERACTION BETWEEN ARGON AND DOPANTS IN SPUTTERED a-Si : H

The concentrations of As, B, H, Ar and Si in sputtered a-Si : H are measured by helium Rutherford backscattering and nuclear reactions analysis. Excess or deficit of hydrogen and argon by comparison with intrinsic a-Si : H are found in presence of dopants at high deposition rate. This is related to the plasma deposition method and would suggest micro grain structure in the deposited layer

PULSED ELECTRON BEAM ANNEALING OF As AND B IMPLANTED SILICON

p-type (100) silicon wafers have been implanted either by As or B ions at 20 and 200 keV energies and doses of 1016cm-2. Pulsed electron beam annealing has been performed with fluences of 1.1 and 1.4 J/cm2 using a mean electron energy of 15 keV. The pulse duration was 50 ns. The annealed layers have been investigated by Rutherford backscattering under random and channeling conditions and by S.I.M.S. profiling. Good crystal regrowth and high dopant activation occur in all cases except for the 200 keV Boron implant. Impurities redistribution is observed but no significant segregation effects appear. The experimental profiles are in good agreement with a diffusion model using a modified green function solution and taking into account dopant diffusion in liquid phase and the computed melt front location. The deduced diffusion coefficient are in the 5.10-5cm2/s range for boron and 2.10-4cm2/s range for arsenic

Determination of left ventricular wall thickness and muscle mass by intravenous digital subtractionangiocardiography: validation of the method

Left ventricular (LV) wall thickness and muscle mass are important measures of LV hypertrophy. In 24 patients LV end-diastolic wall thickness and muscle mass were determined (two observers) by digital subtraction angiocardiography (DSA) and conventional LV angiocardiography (LVA). Wall thickness was determined over the anterolateral wall of the left ventricle according to the technique of Rackley (method 1) or by planimetry (method 2). Seventeen patients were studied at rest and seven during dynamic exercise. Wall thickness correlated well between LVA and DSA; the best correlations were obtained by a combined subtraction mode using either method 1 or 2 (method 1, r≥0-80; method2, r≥0. 75). The standard error of estimate of the mean (SEE) was slightly lower for method 2 (≤ 10%) than for method 1 (≤ 13%). DSA significantly overestimated wall thickness by 5-7% with method 1 and underestimated by 12-14% with method 2. Muscle mass correlated well between LVA and DSA; the SEE was ≤ 15% for method 1 and≤ 12% for method 2. Overestimation of muscle mass by DSA was 7-11% with method 1 and underestimation was 13-15% with method 2.It is concluded that LV wall thickness can be determined accurately by DSA with an SEE ranging between 10 and 13%. Determination of LV muscle mass is slightly less accurate and the SEE is slightly larger ranging between 13 to 17%. With method 1, wall thickness and muscle mass were over estimated and with method 2 underestimate

Intensification of chemotherapy for the treatment of solid tumours: feasibility of a 3-fold increase in dose intensity with peripheral blood progenitor cells and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

Dose intensity may be an important determinant of the outcome in cancer chemotherapy, but is often limited by cumulative haematological toxicity. The availability of haematopoietic growth factors such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and of peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) transplantation has allowed the development of a new treatment strategy in which several courses of high-dose combination chemotherapy are administered for the treatment of solid tumours. PBPCs were mobilised before chemotherapy using 12 or 30 micrograms kg-1 day-1 G-CSF (Filgrastim) for 10 days, and were collected by 2-5 leucaphereses. The yields of mononuclear cells, colony-forming units and CD34-positive cells were similar at the two dose levels of Filgrastim, and the numbers of PBPCs were sufficient for rescue following multiple cycles of chemotherapy. High-dose chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide 2.5 g m-2 for 2 days, etoposide 300 mg m-2 for 3 days and cisplatin 50 mg m-2 for 3 days) was administered sequentially for a median of three cycles (range 1-4) to ten patients. Following the 30 evaluable cycles, the median duration of leucopenia < or = 0.5 x 10(9) l-1 and < or = 1.0 x 10(9) l-1 was 7 and 8 days respectively. The median time of thrombopenia < or = 20 x 10(9) l-1 was 6 days. There was no cumulative haematological toxicity. The duration of leucopenia, but not of thrombopenia, was inversely related to the number of reinfused CFU-GM (granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units). In the majority of patients, neurotoxicity and ototoxicity became dose limiting after three cycles of therapy. However, the average dose intensity delivered was about three times higher than in a standard regimen. The complete response rate in patients with small-cell lung cancers was 66% (95% CI 30-92%) and the median progression-free survival and overall survival were 13 months and 17 months respectively. These results are encouraging and should be compared, in a randomised fashion, with standard dose chemotherapy

Beratungsinstrument zur Verbesserung der Wirtschaftlichkeit auf Milchbetrieben

Um die Wirtschaftlichkeit von Milchproduktionsbetrieben zu verbessern, wurde eine in Frankreich entwickelte Beratungsmethode auf das Umfeld im Kanton Jura und Berner Jura angepasst. Dazu wurden auf 64 Milchproduktionsbetrieben Daten zu den natürlichen Standortfaktoren, zur Produktionstechnik sowie dem damit in Zusammenhang stehenden wirtschaftlichen Ergebnis erhoben. Mittels multivariater statistischer Analysen wurden die wichtigsten Faktoren für den Betriebserfolg identifiziert. Die Analysen haben gezeigt, dass die Wirtschaftlichkeit sowohl bei Dürrfutter- als auch bei Silagebetrieben massgeblich durch die aus dem Grundfutter erzeugte Milchmenge beeinflusst wird. Auf Grundlage der Ergebnisse wurde ein Klassifizierungsschema entwickelt, mit dem in Abhängigkeit der Standortfaktoren und der Produktionstechnik gezielte Optimierungen abgeleitet und die daraus resultierenden Auswirkungen auf das wirtschaftliche Ergebnis abgeschätzt werden können

Prospective assessment of a gene signature potentially predictive of clinical benefit in metastatic melanoma patients following MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic (PREDICT)

Background: Genomic profiling of tumor tissue may aid in identifying predictive or prognostic gene signatures (GS) in some cancers. Retrospective gene expression profiling of melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancer led to the characterization of a GS associated with clinical benefit, including improved overall survival (OS), following immunization with the MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic. The goal of the present study was to prospectively evaluate the predictive value of the previously characterized GS. Patients and methods: An open-label prospective phase II trial ('PREDICT') in patients with MAGE-A3-positive unresectable stage IIIB-C/IV-M1a melanoma. Results: Of 123 subjects who received the MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic, 71 (58.7%) displayed the predictive GS (GS +). The 1-year OS rate was 83.1%/83.3% in the GS+/GS- populations. The rate of progression-free survival at 12 months was 5.8%/4.1% in GS+/GS- patients. The median time-to-treatment failure was 2.7/2.4 months (GS+/GS-). There was one complete response (GS-) and two partial responses (GS+). The MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic was similarly immunogenic in both populations and had a clinically acceptable safety profile. Conclusion: Treatment of patients with MAGE-A3-positive unresectable stage IIIB-C/IV-M1a melanoma with the MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic demonstrated an overall 1-year OS rate of 83.5%. GS- and GS+ patients had similar 1-year OS rates, indicating that in this study, GS was not predictive of outcome. Unexpectedly, the objective response rate was lower in this study than in other studies carried out in the same setting with the MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic. Investigation of a GS to predict clinical benefit to adjuvant MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic treatment is ongoing in another melanoma study. This study is registered at www.clinicatrials.gov NCT00942162

Overexpression of the p73 gene is a novel finding in high-risk B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

The p73 protein shares structural and functional similarities with the tumour-suppressor p53, but its role in neoplastic transformation is unknown. Alternative splicing leads to the expression of at least nine p73 C-terminal mRNA splice variants (α β γ δ ε ξ η ηl θ). In this survey, we analyse the expression of p73 by real-time quantitative RT-PCR, its known C-terminal variants with an RT-PCR-Southern tech nique and by Western blot in samples of 51 patients with B-CLL, normal B lymphocytes from eight individuals, and five haematopoetic cell lines. p73α protein expression positively correlated with higher risk B-CLL stages (P=0.046). Total p73 mRNA expression was higher (P= 0.01) and p73α protein more frequently detected (P=0.008) in B-CLL compared with normal CD19+—B-lymphocytes. p73 C-terminal mRNA variants were expressed both in B-CLL and in normal B-lymphocytes, but their expression was biased since the γ (P=0.041), the θ (P ≪ 0.001), and the η variant (P=0.033) prevailed in normal B-lymphocytes. In summary, we conclude that the accumulation of p73, the expression pattern of particular p73 variants and its link to progression may play a distinct role in the molecular pathology B-CL