Characterization of Carbon-Contaminated B4C-Coated Optics after Chemically Selective Cleaning with Low-Pressure RF Plasma

Boron carbide (B4C) is one of the few materials that is expected to be mostly resilient with respect to the extremely high brilliance of the photon beam generated by free electron lasers (FELs) and is thus of considerable interest for optical applications in this field. However, as in the case of many other optics operated at modern light source facilities, B4C-coated optics are subject to ubiquitous carbon contaminations. These contaminations represent a serious issue for the operation of high performance FEL beamlines due to severe reduction of photon flux, beam coherence, creation of destructive interference, and scattering losses. A variety of B4C cleaning technologies were developed at different laboratories with varying success. We present a study regarding the low-pressure RF plasma cleaning of carbon contaminated B4C test samples via inductively coupled O2/Ar, H2/Ar, and pure O2 RF plasma produced following previous studies using the same IBSS GV10x downstream plasma source. Results regarding the chemistry, morphology as well as other aspects of the B4C optical coating before and after the plasma cleaning are reported. We conclude from these comparative plasma processes that pure O2 feedstock plasma only exhibits the required chemical selectivity for maintaining the integrity of the B4C optical coating.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figure

Towards manufactured red blood cells for the treatment of inherited anemia

Patients with inherited anemia and hemoglobinopathies (such as sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia) are treated with red blood cell (RBC) transfusions to alleviate their symptoms. Some of these patients may have rare blood group types or go on to develop alloimmune reactions, which can make it difficult to source compatible blood in the donor population. Laboratory-grown RBC represent a particularly attractive alternative which could satisfy an unmet clinical need. The challenge, however, is to produce - from a limited number of stem cells - the 2x1012 RBC required for a standard adult therapeutic dose. Encouraging progress has been made in RBC production from adult stem cells under good manufacturing practice. In 2011, the Douay group conducted a successful proof-of-principle mini-transfusion of autologous manufactured RBC in a single volunteer. In the UK, a trial is planned to assess whether manufactured RBC are equivalent to RBC produced naturally in donors, by testing an allogeneic mini-dose of laboratory-grown manufactured RBC in multiple volunteers. This review discusses recent progress in the erythroid culture field as well as opportunities for further scaling up of manufactured RBC production for transfusion practice

Ruthenium polypyridyl peptide conjugates: membrane permeable probes for cellular imaging

Two novel polyarginine labelled ruthenium polypyridyl dyes are reported, one conjugated to five, (Ru-Ahx-R5), and one to eight arginine residues, (Ru-Ahx-R8). Both complexes exhibit long-lived, intense, and oxygen sensitive luminescence. (Ru-R8) is passively, efficiently and very rapidly transported across the cell membrane into the cytoplasm without requirement for premeablisation of the cell membrane. Such ruthenium polypyridyl peptide conjugates open up the possibility for targeted cell delivery for environmentally sensitive intensity and lifetime imaging

Coleta de material para diagnóstico das doenças infecciosas que interferem com a reprodução de bovinos.

O diagnóstico de problemas reprodutivos de bovinos é uma tarefa árdua e muitas das vezes sem o resultado esperado, em função do grande número de fatores ambientais, de manejo, nutricionais e infeciosos envolvidos. A avaliação dos parâmetros nutricionais, ambientais e de manejo são muito importantes para se diferenciar problemas de causa infecciosa daqueles advindos de deficiências nutricionais ou de falhas no manejo geral ou reprodutivo dos animais. A melhora no diagnóstico de doenças infecciosas e um maior número de informações mais precisas e rápidas para o produtor e para o técnico podem ser conseguidos com emprego de alguns cuidados relativos a coleta e envio de material aos testes requisitados devem ser observados com atenção.bitstream/item/37514/1/CT45.pd