Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Crystalline Silicon source/ Drain FinFETs

Crystalline silicon source/drain FInFET structures were designed, fabricated, and tested at the RIT Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory (SMFL). Process development was completed using hand calculations, simulations, and similar processing techniques based upon mature RIT semiconductor manufacturing processes. The design under investigation is a dog-bone structure fabricated on SOT substrates. The crystalline silicon source/drain FinFETs exhibited a field effect behavior for all transistor sizes fabricated, however the smaller 1μm FinFETs were more susceptible to background noise. The smallest device, a 1x2μm FInFET yielded VT=1.53V and a drive current of 510 μA with VG=5V. The largest device, a 4x80μm FinFET yielded VT=1.42V and a drive current of 4.1 mA with VG=SV.

Thermal-hydraulic analysis of the liquid mercury target for the national spallation neutron source

The National Spallation Neutron Source (NSNS) is a high-energy, accelerator-based spallation neutron source being designed by a multi-laboratory team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to achieve very high fluxes of neutrons for scientific experiments. The NSNS is proposed to have a 1 MW beam of high-energy ({approximately}1 GeV) protons upgradable to 5 MW and operating at 60 Hz with a pulse duration of 0.5 {mu}s. Peak steady-state power density in the target is about 640 MW/m{sup 3} for 1 MW, whereas the pulse instantaneous peak power density is as high as 22,000 GW/m{sup 3}. The local peak temperature rise for a single pulse over it`s time-averaged value is only 6{degrees}C, but the rate of this temperature rise during the pulse is extremely fast ({approximately}12 million {degrees}C/s). In addition to the resulting thermal shock and materials compatibility concerns, key feasibility issues for the target are related to its thermal-hydraulic performance. These include proper flow distribution, flow reversals and stagnation zones, possible {open_quotes}hot spots{close_quotes}, cooling of the beam {open_quotes}window{close_quotes}, and the challenge of mitigating the effects of thermal shock through possible injection of helium bubbles. An analytic approach was used on the PC spreadsheet EXCEL to evaluate target design options and to determine the global T/H parameters in the current concept. The general computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code CFX was used to simulate the detailed time-averaged two-dimensional thermal and flow distributions in the liquid mercury. In this paper, an overview of the project and the results of this preliminary work are presented. Heat transfer characteristics of liquid mercury under wetting and non-wetting conditions are discussed, and future directions of the program in T/H analysis and R&D are outlined

Experimental study of static flow instability in subcooled flow boiling in parallel channels

Experimental data for static flow instability or flow excursion (FE) at conditions applicable to the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor are very limited. A series of FE tests with light water flowing vertically upward was completed covering a local exit heat flux range of 0.7--18 MW/m{sup 2}, exit velocity range of 2.8--28.4 m/s, exit pressure range of 0.117--1.7 MPa, and inlet temperature range of 40-- 50{degrees}C. Most of the tests were performed in a ``stiff`` (constant flow) system where the instability threshold was detected through the minimum of the pressure-drop curve. A few tests were also conducted using as ``soft`` (constant pressure drop) a system as possible to secure a true FE phenomenon (actual secondary burnout). True critical heat flux experiments under similar conditions were also conducted using a stiff system. The FE data reported in this study considerably extend the velocity range of data presently available worldwide, most of which were obtained at velocities below 10 m/s. The Saha and Zuber correlation had the best fit with the data out of the three correlations compared. However, a modification was necessary to take into account the demonstrated dependence of the St and Nu numbers on subcooling levels, especially in the low subcooling regime. Comparison of Thermal Hydraulic Test Loop (THTL) data, as well as extensive data from other investigators, led to a proposed modification to the Saha and Zuber correlation for onset of significant void, applied to FE prediction. The mean and standard deviation of the THTL data were 0.95 and 15%, respectively, when comparing the THTL data with the original Saha and Zuber correlation, and 0.93 and 10% when comparing them with the modification. Comparison with the worldwide database showed a mean and standard deviation of 1.37 and 53%, respectively, for the original Saha and Zuber correlation and 1.0 and 27% for the modification

Gastric cancer and Helicobacter pylori: a combined analysis of 12 case control studies nested within prospective cohorts

BACKGROUND: The magnitude of the association between Helicobacter pylori and incidence of gastric cancer is unclear. H pylori infection and the circulating antibody response can be lost with development of cancer; thus retrospective studies are subject to bias resulting from classifi- cation of cases as H pylori negative when they were infected in the past. AIMS: To combine data from all case control studies nested within prospective cohorts to assess more reliably the relative risk of gastric cancer associated with H pylori infection.To investigate variation in relative risk by age, sex, cancer type and subsite, and interval between blood sampling and cancer diagnosis. METHODS: Studies were eligible if blood samples for H pylori serology were collected before diagnosis of gastric cancer in cases. Identified published studies and two unpublished studies were included. Individual subject data were obtained for each. Matched odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for the association between H pylori and gastric cancer. RESULTS: Twelve studies with 1228 gastric cancer cases were considered. The association with H pylori was restricted to noncardia cancers (OR 3.0; 95% CI 2.3–3.8) and was stronger when blood samples for H pylori serology were collected 10+ years before cancer diagnosis (5.9; 3.4–10.3). H pylori infection was not associated with an altered overall risk of cardia cancer (1.0; 0.7–1.4). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that 5.9 is the best estimate of the relative risk of non-cardia cancer associated with H pylori infection and that H pylori does not increase the risk of cardia cancer. They also support the idea that when H pylori status is assessed close to cancer diagnosis, the magnitude of the non-cardia association may be underestimated

Proteomics: in pursuit of effective traumatic brain injury therapeutics

Effective traumatic brain injury (TBI) therapeutics remain stubbornly elusive. Efforts in the field have been challenged by the heterogeneity of clinical TBI, with greater complexity among underlying molecular phenotypes than initially conceived. Future research must confront the multitude of factors comprising this heterogeneity, representing a big data challenge befitting the coming informatics age. Proteomics is poised to serve a central role in prescriptive therapeutic development, as it offers an efficient endpoint within which to assess post-TBI biochemistry. We examine rationale for multifactor TBI proteomic studies and the particular importance of temporal profiling in defining biochemical sequences and guiding therapeutic development. Lastly, we offer perspective on repurposing biofluid proteomics to develop theragnostic assays with which to prescribe, monitor and assess pharmaceutics for improved translation and outcome for TBI patients

Clumped isotope evidence for episodic, rapid flow of fluids in a mineralized fault system in the Peak District, UK

We have used clumped isotope thermometry to study a fault-hosted hydrothermal calcite vein associated with the Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) mineralization on the Derbyshire Platform in the southern Pennines, UK. This is the first published dataset obtained using a new mass spectrometer, MIRA, optimized for clumped isotope analysis and an associated clumped isotope-temperature calibration. We analysed multiple generations of vein growth at high spatial resolution in two transects across the vein. The vein grew episodically at temperatures between 40 and 100°C. We interpret each episode of growth as being associated with an increasing flux of formation waters from deep sedimentary basins next to the mineralized platform and an accompanying increase in the precipitation temperatures. Heat is conserved in the fluid as it ascends along the fault surface and, thus, flow must have been fast and restricted to short-lived pulses. The flux could have been driven by high pore pressures associated with rapid sedimentation, hydrocarbon generation and diagenesis in the basinal facies of the Visean Bowland-Hodder group. Natural hydraulic fracturing of shale units and failure of capillary seals, possibly triggered by uplift, allowed the release of fluids into aquifers within the sediment pile. The transmission of high pore fluid pressures from the shales to the fault zone, aided by the compressibility of the gas phase in two-phase pore fluids, may have resulted in fault rupture, accompanied by enhanced fracture permeability and rapid fluid flow. Vein growth ceased as pore pressures dissipated. Such behaviour is closely related to a seismic valve type model for mineralization

Participatory planning and quality assessment: contributions of a nursing management technology

Objective: to analyze the outcomes of participatory planning and quality assessment of the nursing care provided in a hospital ward using a nursing management technology. Method: Convergent care research focuses on research and practice intervention, developed in a hospital in southern Brazil from April to August 2016. Participatory planning and quality evaluation was performed using the PRAXIS® technology. Results: In the participatory planning, a survey of needs/problems was carried out by 33 professionals followed by 5 workshops, where mission, guiding principles, 4 priority problems, expected results, objectives and plans of activities were defined. For quality evaluation, two indicators were used: satisfaction and notification of adverse events. The evaluation was carried out with 101 patients and /or relatives, predominating “great or good”. Adverse events, 28 records, predominating medication errors. Conclusion: Participatory planning and quality assessment are essential to improve nursing care management and the PRAXIS® technological innovation has been a useful resource.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Glucose Starvation Boosts Entamoeba histolytica Virulence

The unicellular parasite, Entamoeba histolytica, is exposed to numerous adverse conditions, such as nutrient deprivation, during its life cycle stages in the human host. In the present study, we examined whether the parasite virulence could be influenced by glucose starvation (GS). The migratory behaviour of the parasite and its capability to kill mammalian cells and to lyse erythrocytes is strongly enhanced following GS. In order to gain insights into the mechanism underlying the GS boosting effects on virulence, we analyzed differences in protein expression levels in control and glucose-starved trophozoites, by quantitative proteomic analysis. We observed that upstream regulatory element 3-binding protein (URE3-BP), a transcription factor that modulates E.histolytica virulence, and the lysine-rich protein 1 (KRiP1) which is induced during liver abscess development, are upregulated by GS. We also analyzed E. histolytica membrane fractions and noticed that the Gal/GalNAc lectin light subunit LgL1 is up-regulated by GS. Surprisingly, amoebapore A (Ap-A) and cysteine proteinase A5 (CP-A5), two important E. histolytica virulence factors, were strongly down-regulated by GS. While the boosting effect of GS on E. histolytica virulence was conserved in strains silenced for Ap-A and CP-A5, it was lost in LgL1 and in KRiP1 down-regulated strains. These data emphasize the unexpected role of GS in the modulation of E.histolytica virulence and the involvement of KRiP1 and Lgl1 in this phenomenon