Optimized Photolithographic Fabrication Process for Carbon Nanotube Devices

We have developed a photolithographic process for the fabrication of large arrays of single walled carbon nanotube transistors with high quality electronic properties that rival those of transistors fabricated by electron beam lithography.Abuffer layer is used to prevent direct contact between the nanotube and the novolac-based photoresist, and a cleaning bake at 300C effectively removes residues that bind to the nanotube sidewall during processing. In situ electrical measurement of a nanotube transistor during a temperature ramp reveals sharp decreases in the ON-state resistance that we associate with the vaporization of components of the photoresist. Data from nearly 2000 measured nanotube transistors show an average ON-state resistance of 250 ± 100 kΩ. This new process represents significant progress towards the goal of highyield production of large arrays of nanotube transistors for applications including chemical sensors and transducers, as well as integrated circuit components

Nanoenabled microelectromechanical sensor for volatile organic chemical detection

A nanoenabled gravimetric chemical sensor prototype based on the large scale integration of single-stranded DNA (ss-DNA) decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as nanofunctionalization layer for aluminum nitride contour-mode resonant microelectromechanical (MEM) gravimetric sensors has been demonstrated. The capability of two distinct single strands of DNA bound to SWNTs to enhance differently the adsorption of volatile organic compounds such as dinitroluene (simulant for explosive vapor) and dymethyl-methylphosphonate (simulant for nerve agent sarin) has been verified experimentally. Different levels of sensitivity (17.3 and 28 KHz µm^2/fg) due to separate frequencies of operation (287 and 450 MHz) on the same die have also been shown to prove the large dynamic range of sensitivity attainable with the sensor. The adsorption process in the ss-DNA decorated SWNTs does not occur in the bulk of the material, but solely involves the surface, which permits to achieve 50% recovery in less than 29 s

DNA-Decorated Carbon Nanotubes as Sensitive Layer for AlN Contour-Mode Resonant-MEMS Gravimetric Sensor

In this work a nano-enabled gravimetric chemical sensor prototype based on single-stranded DNA (ss-DNA) decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) as nano-functionalization layer for Aluminun Nitride (AIN) contour-mode resonant-MEMS gravimetric sensors has been demonstrated. Two resonators fabricated on the same silicon chip and operating at different resonance frequencies, 287 and 450 MHz, were functionalized with this novel bio-coating layer to experimentally prove the capability of two distinct single strands of DNA bound to SWNT to enhance differently the adsorption of volatile organic compounds such as dinitroluene (DNT, simulant for explosive vapor) and dymethyl-methylphosphonate (DMMP, a simulant for nerve agent sarin). The introduction of this bio-coating layer addresses the major drawbacks of recovery time (50% recovery in less than 29 seconds has been achieved) and lack of selectivity associated with gas sensor based on polymers and pristine carbon nanotube functionalization layers

Gravimetric chemical sensor based on the direct integration of SWNTS on ALN Contour-Mode MEMS resonators

This paper reports on the first demonstration of a gravimetric chemical sensor based on direct integration of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs) grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) on AlN Contour-Mode MicroElectroMechanical (MEMS) resonators. In this first prototype the ability of SWNTs to readily adsorb volatile organic chemicals has been combined with the capability of AlN Contour-Mode MEMS resonator to provide for different levels of sensitivity due to separate frequencies of operation on the same die. Two devices with resonance frequencies of 287 MHz and 442 MHz have been exposed to different concentrations of DMMP in the range from 80 to 800 ppm. Values of mass sensitivity equal to 1.8 KHz/pg and 2.65 KHz/pg respectively have been measured

Identification of edible short- and long-horned grasshoppers and their host plants in East Africa

This study adopted morphological and molecular analysis to identify edible grasshoppers and their associated food host plants in Kenya and Uganda. Host plants were identified through molecular analysis of the gut contents of the grasshoppers. Grasshoppers are among the most popular edible insects in East Africa. As an alternative protein, they contribute to improved nutrition and food security, livelihoods, and employment. The study provides a detailed breakdown of morphometric data and species identification factors along with sequencing, identification and phylogenetic analysis of plant and insect DNA.Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)Netherlands Organization for Scientific ResearchWOTRO Science for Global Development (NWO-WOTRO)Bioresources Innovations Network for Eastern Africa Development (BioInnovate Africa)Rockefeller FoundationAustralian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR

BLOOM: A 176B-Parameter Open-Access Multilingual Language Model

Large language models (LLMs) have been shown to be able to perform new tasks based on a few demonstrations or natural language instructions. While these capabilities have led to widespread adoption, most LLMs are developed by resource-rich organizations and are frequently kept from the public. As a step towards democratizing this powerful technology, we present BLOOM, a 176B-parameter open-access language model designed and built thanks to a collaboration of hundreds of researchers. BLOOM is a decoder-only Transformer language model that was trained on the ROOTS corpus, a dataset comprising hundreds of sources in 46 natural and 13 programming languages (59 in total). We find that BLOOM achieves competitive performance on a wide variety of benchmarks, with stronger results after undergoing multitask prompted finetuning. To facilitate future research and applications using LLMs, we publicly release our models and code under the Responsible AI License

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings: the WARNING call to action

Antibiotics are recognized widely for their benefits when used appropriately. However, they are often used inappropriately despite the importance of responsible use within good clinical practice. Effective antibiotic treatment is an essential component of universal healthcare, and it is a global responsibility to ensure appropriate use. Currently, pharmaceutical companies have little incentive to develop new antibiotics due to scientific, regulatory, and financial barriers, further emphasizing the importance of appropriate antibiotic use. To address this issue, the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery established an international multidisciplinary task force of 295 experts from 115 countries with different backgrounds. The task force developed a position statement called WARNING (Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance National/International Network Group) aimed at raising awareness of antimicrobial resistance and improving antibiotic prescribing practices worldwide. The statement outlined is 10 axioms, or “golden rules,” for the appropriate use of antibiotics that all healthcare workers should consistently adhere in clinical practice

Electronic, chemical sensing, and structural properties of single stranded DNA functionalized, single walled carbon nanotube devices

The integration of SWNT\u27s with biomolecules is allows for taking advantage of the strengths of both, the electronic properties and structure of the SWNT combined with the diversity of biomolecules provides a platform to investigate a multitude of interesting phenomena. We have conducted experiments to probe the electronic, chemical sensing and structural properties of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT\u27s) functionalized with single stranded DNA (ssDNA). We have developed a method for producing high quality contacts to SWNT\u27s, allowing for devices with pristine surface chemistries, so that we can study the interactions of the ssDNA with the SWNT in the absence of other chemical contaminants. We have studied the chemical sensing properties of SWNT FET\u27s functionalized with various sequences of ssDNA, in order to test that the sequence of the adsorbed DNA modulates the sensing response. We find that the order of bases in a sequence is the driving force which modulates the sensing response, not the base content, we also find that a linear combination of responses obtained by devices functionalized with single nucleotide strands cannot recreate the response of a random sequence. Building on that result, we have shown the first instance of chiral molecule discrimination by an artificial electronic chemical sensing platform. We present data from a library representing thousands of devices measured with a variety of ssDNA sequences, screened against a variety of analytes to support this result. Finally, we have conducted experiments to probe the structure of the adsorbed ssDNA on SWNT\u27s by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and have discovered that Watson-Crick base-pairing within sequences adsorbed to SWNT\u27s can modulate the sensing response of that device to given analytes. We present structural probes of the ssDNA strands representative of our library, and test our model on an idealized ssDNA configuration to confirm our result that base-pairing indeed modulates the gas sensing properties of SWNT/ssDNA hybrid devices. This insight paves the way for the use of SWNT\u27s functionalized with ssDNA as a generic chemical binding site which can be interfaced with electronic, gravimetric or any number of other platforms requiring a diverse chemical recognitions site