Hard Hydrogenated Carbon Films With Low Stress

Analysis of hard a-C:H films with low stress prepared by methane plasma decomposition is reported. Films with hardness as high as 14 GPa and stress as low as 0.5 GPa were obtained. These films have a high Raman Id/Ig ratio (∼1.0), and small Tauc's band gap (∼0.4 eV). This letter also supplies strong evidence that the subimplantation deposition model, used to explain the formation of ta-C and ta-C:H films, is also valid for a-C:H films deposited by methane plasma decomposition. It is proposed that the rigidity of the films is basically provided by a matrix of dispersed cross-linked sp2 sites, in addition to the contribution of the sp3 sites. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.735617619Franceschini, D.F., Achete, C.A., Freire Jr., F.L., (1992) Appl. Phys. Lett., 60, p. 3229Chhowalla, M., Yin, Y., Amaratunga, G.A.J., McKenzie, D.R., Frauenheim, T., (1996) Appl. Phys. Lett., 69, p. 2344Hoffman, R.W., (1996) Physics of Thin Films, 3. , in edited by G. Hass and R. E. Thun Academic, New YorkJiang, X., Reichelt, K., Stritzker, B., (1989) J. Appl. Phys., 66, p. 5805Lifshitz, Y., Kasi, S.R., Rabalais, J.W., (1989) Phys. Rev. Lett., 68, p. 620Lifshitz, Y., Kasi, S.R., Rabalais, J.W., (1990) Phys. Rev. B, 41, p. 10468McKenzie, D.R., Muller, D., Pailthorpe, B.A., (1991) Phys. Rev. Lett., 67, p. 773Fallon, P.J., Veerasamy, V.S., Davis, C.A., Robertson, J., Amaratunga, G.A.J., Milne, W.I., Koskinen, J., (1993) Phys. Rev. B, 48, p. 4777Weiler, M., Sattel, S., Jung, K., Ehrhardt, H., Veerasamy, V.S., Robertson, J., (1994) Appl. Phys. Lett., 64, p. 2797Robertson, J., (1993) Diamond Relat. Mater., 2, p. 984Davis, C.A., (1993) Thin Solid Films, 226, p. 30Kohler, K., Coburn, J.W., Horne, D.E., Kay, E., (1985) J. Appl. Phys., 57, p. 59Chapman, B., (1980) Glow Discharge Process, , Wiley, New YorkMoller, W., (1993) Appl. Phys. A: Solids Surf., 56, p. 527Kleber, R., Weiler, M., Kruger, A., Sattel, S., Kunz, G., Jung, K., Ehrbardt, H., (1993) Diamond Relat. Mater., 2, p. 246Robertson, J., (1992) Phys. Rev. Lett., 68, p. 220Tamor, M.A., Vassell, W.C., Carduner, K.R., (1991) Appl. Phys. Lett., 58, p. 592Walters, J.K., Honeybone, P.J.R., Huxley, D.W., Newport, R., Howells, W.S., (1994) Phys. Rev. B, 50, p. 831Stephan, U., Frauenheim, T., Blaudeck, P., Jungnickel, G., (1994) Phys. Rev. B, 49, p. 1489Robertson, J., (1996) J. Non-Cryst. Solids, 198-200, p. 614Robertson, J., (1997) Diamond Relat. Mater., 6, p. 212Schwan, J., Ulrich, S., Batori, V., Ehrhardt, H., Silva, S.R.P., (1996) J. Appl. Phys., 80, p. 440Tamor, M., Vassel, W., (1994) J. Appl. Phys., 76, p. 446Prawer, S., Nugent, K.W., Lifshitz, Y., Lampert, G.D., Grossman, E., Kulik, J., Kalish, R., (1996) Diamond Relat. Mater., 5, p. 433Robertson, J., (1994) Pure Appl. Chem., 66, p. 1789Robertson, J., (1992) Surf. Coat. Technol., 50, p. 185Kelires, P.C., (1994) Phys. Rev. Lett., 73, p. 2460Amaratunga, G.A.J., Chhowalla, M., Kiely, C.J., Alexandrou, I., Devenish, R.M., (1996) Nature (London), 383, p. 32

Effects Of Stress On Electron Emission From Nanostructured Carbon Materials

The electron field emission from a graphite like amorphous carbon film was investigated. Threshold fields as low as 8 V/νm were observed at an assisting energy of 400eV. The field emission characteristics of the films were explained in terms of the high sp2 concentration, and the high intrinsic compressive stress modifying the electronic band structure of the film/graphitic nanostructures.21417101714McKenzie, D.R., Muller, D., Pailthope, B.A., (1991) Phys. Rev. Lett., 67, p. 773Schwan, J., Ulrich, S., Theel, T., Roth, H., Ehrhardt, H., Becker, P., Silva, S.R.P., (1997) J. Appl. Phys., 82, p. 6024Lifshitz, Y., Kasi, S.R., Rabalais, J.W., Eckstein, W., (1990) Phys. Rev. B, 41, p. 10468Robertson, J., (1993) Diamond Relat. Mater., 2, p. 984Lacerda, R.G., Hammer, P., Lepienski, C.M., Alvarez, F., Marques, F.C., (2001) J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 19, p. 971Bhattacharyya, S., Subramanyam, S.V., (1997) Appl. Phys. Lett., 71, p. 632Kilic, C., Mehrez, H., Ciraci, S., (1998) Phys. Rev. B, 58, p. 7872Uher, C., Hockey, R.L., Ben-Jacob, E., (1987) Phys. Rev. B, 35, p. 4483Satyanarayana, B.S., Hart, A., Milne, W.I., Robertson, J., (1997) Appl. Phys. Lett., 71, p. 1430Carey, J.D., Forrest, R.D., Silva, S.R.P., (2001) Appl. Phys. Lett., 78, p. 2339Illie, A., Ferrari, C., Yagi, T., Robertson, J., (2000) Appl. Phys. Lett., 76, p. 2627De Lima M.M., Jr., Lacerda, R.G., Vilcarromero, J., Marques, F.C., (1999) J. Appl. Phys., 86, p. 4936Hoffman, R.W., (1966) Physics of Thin Films, 3, pp. 211-273. , edited by G. Hass and R. E. Thun (Academic, New YorkCarey, J.D., Silva, S.R.P., (2001) Appl. Phys. Lett., 78, p. 347Hammer, P., Victoria, N.M., Alvarez, F., (2000) J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, 18, p. 2277Lifshitz, Y., Lempert, G.D., Grossman, E., Avigal, L., Uzan-Saguy, C., Kalish, R., Khlik, J., Rabalais, J.W., (1995) Diamond Relat. Mater., 4, p. 318Fallon, P.J., Veerasamy, V.S., Davis, C.A., Robertson, J., Amaratunga, G.A.J., Milne, W.I., Koskinen, J., (1993) Phys. Rev. B, 48, p. 4777Ahuja, R., Auluck, S., Trygg, J., Wills, J.M., Eriksson, O., Johansson, B., (1995) Phys. Rev. B, 51, p. 4813Reynolds, W.N., Goggin, P.R., (1960) Philos. Mag., 5, p. 1049Lynch, R.W., Drickamer, H.G., (1966) J. Chem. Phys., 44, p. 181Chaumet, P.C., Dufour, J.P., (1998) J. Electrost., 43, p. 145Hryd, R., Charlier, A., McRae, E., (1997) Phys. Rev. B, 55, p. 682

Early Seizure Detection Based on Cardiac Autonomic Regulation Dynamics

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes changes in the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the regulation of cardiac activity and autonomic nervous system tone. The early detection of epileptic seizures could foster the use of new treatment approaches. This study presents a new methodology for the prediction of epileptic seizures using HRV signals. Eigendecomposition of HRV parameter covariance matrices was used to create an input for a support vector machine (SVM)-based classifier. We analyzed clinical data from 12 patients (9 female; 3 male; age 34.5 ± 7.5 years), involving 34 seizures and a total of 55.2 h of interictal electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. Data from 123.6 h of ECG recordings from healthy subjects were used to test false positive rate per hour (FP/h) in a completely independent data set. Our methodological approach allowed the detection of impending seizures from 5 min to just before the onset of a clinical/electrical seizure with a sensitivity of 94.1%. The FP rate was 0.49 h−1 in the recordings from patients with epilepsy and 0.19 h−1 in the recordings from healthy subjects. Our results suggest that it is feasible to use the dynamics of HRV parameters for the early detection and, potentially, the prediction of epileptic seizures

Dermatophylosis in Santa Inês sheep from Distrito Federal

Relataram-se quatro casos de dermatofilose em ovinos da raça Santa Inês, no período de um ano. Microscopicamente observaram-se filamentos na forma de "trilho de bonde" e zoósporos nos quatro casos. A tentativa do isolamento do microrganismo foi realizada por meio do método de Haalstra e em apenas um caso obteve-se sucesso, observando-se colônias de aparência lisa, formato circular, cor amarelada e hemolítica em ágar sangue. O exame direto com coloração de Gram mostrou-se um método bastante eficiente na confirmação da presença do microrganismo afetando a epiderme em razão da morfologia típica do agente.Four cases of dermatophylosis were reported in Santa Inês sheep in a study period of one year. Microscopically, septate filaments and coccoid forms zoospores were observed. Attempts to isolate the microorganisms were accomplished using Haastra's method and it was successful in only one case. Dermatophilus congolensis samples have grown on blood agar, colonies where hemolytic, small, round and pigmentation vary from yellow to orange. The gram staining method was efficient to confirm the presence of the microorganism affecting the epidermis due to typical morphology of the agent

Reducing GBA2 activity ameliorates neuropathology in niemann-pick type C mice

The enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GBA) hydrolyses glucosylceramide (GlcCer) in lysosomes. Markedly reduced GBA activity is associated with severe manifestations of Gaucher disease including neurological involvement. Mutations in the GBA gene have recently also been identified as major genetic risk factor for Parkinsonism. Disturbed metabolism of GlcCer may therefore play a role in neuropathology. Besides lysosomal GBA, cells also contain a non-lysosomal glucosylceramidase (GBA2). Given that the two β-glucosidases share substrates, we speculated that over-activity of GBA2 during severe GBA impairment might influence neuropathology. This hypothesis was studied in Niemann-Pick type C (Npc1-/-) mice showing secondary deficiency in GBA in various tissues. Here we report that GBA2 activity is indeed increased in the brain of Npc1-/- mice. We found that GBA2 is particularly abundant in Purkinje cells (PCs), one of the most affected neuronal populations in NPC disease. Inhibiting GBA2 in Npc1-/- mice with a brain-permeable low nanomolar inhibitor significantly improved motor coordination and extended lifespan in the absence of correction in cholesterol and ganglioside abnormalities. This trend was recapitulated, although not to full extent, by introducing a genetic loss of GBA2 in Npc1-/- mice. Our findings point to GBA2 activity as therapeutic target in NPC

Chemical Proteomic Analysis of Serine Hydrolase Activity in Niemann-Pick Type C Mouse Brain

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is considered to be an endogenous protective system in various neurodegenerative diseases. Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) is a neurodegenerative disease in which the role of the ECS has not been studied yet. Most of the endocannabinoid enzymes are serine hydrolases, which can be studied using activity-based protein profiling (ABPP). Here, we report the serine hydrolase activity in brain proteomes of a NPC mouse model as measured by ABPP. Two ABPP methods are used: a gel-based method and a chemical proteomics method. The activities of the following endocannabinoid enzymes were quantified: diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL) α, α/β-hydrolase domain-containing protein 4, α/β-hydrolase domain-containing protein 6, α/β-hydrolase domain-containing protein 12, fatty acid amide hydrolase, and monoacylglycerol lipase. Using the gel-based method, two bands were observed for DAGL α. Only the upper band corresponding to this enzyme was significantly decreased in the NPC mouse model. Chemical proteomics showed that three lysosomal serine hydrolase activities (retinoid-inducible serine carboxypeptidase, cathepsin A, and palmitoyl-protein thioesterase 1) were increased in Niemann-Pick C1 protein knockout mouse brain compared to wild-type brain, whereas no difference in endocannabinoid hydrolase activity was observed. We conclude that these targets might be interesting therapeutic targets for future validation studies.Medical BiochemistryBio-organic SynthesisMolecular Physiolog