High-rate low-temperature dc pulsed magnetron sputtering of photocatalytic TiO2films: the effect of repetition frequency

The article reports on low-temperature high-rate sputtering of hydrophilic transparent TiO2thin films using dc dual magnetron (DM) sputtering in Ar + O2mixture on unheated glass substrates. The DM was operated in a bipolar asymmetric mode and was equipped with Ti(99.5) targets of 50 mm in diameter. The substrate surface temperature Tsurfmeasured by a thermostrip was less than 180 °C for all experiments. The effect of the repetition frequency frwas investigated in detail. It was found that the increase of frfrom 100 to 350 kHz leads to (a) an improvement of the efficiency of the deposition process that results in a significant increase of the deposition rate aDof sputtered TiO2films and (b) a decrease of peak pulse voltage and sustaining of the magnetron discharge at higher target power densities. It was demonstrated that several hundreds nm thick hydrophilic TiO2films can be sputtered on unheated glass substrates at aD = 80 nm/min, Tsurf < 180 °C when high value of fr = 350 kHz was used. Properties of a thin hydrophilic TiO2film deposited on a polycarbonate substrate are given

Implementing telehealth to support medical practice in rural/remote regions: what are the conditions for success?

BACKGROUND: Telehealth, as other information and communication technologies (ICTs) introduced to support the delivery of health care services, is considered as a means to answer many of the imperatives currently challenging health care systems. In Canada, many telehealth projects are taking place, mostly targeting rural, remote or isolated populations. So far, various telehealth applications have been implemented and have shown promising outcomes. However, telehealth utilisation remains limited in many settings, despite increased availability of technology and telecommunication infrastructure. METHODS: A qualitative field study was conducted in four remote regions of Quebec (Canada) to explore perceptions of physicians and managers regarding the impact of telehealth on clinical practice and the organisation of health care services, as well as the conditions for improving telehealth implementation. A total of 54 respondents were interviewed either individually or in small groups. Content analysis of interviews was performed and identified several effects of telehealth on remote medical practice as well as key conditions to ensure the success of telehealth implementation. RESULTS: According to physicians and managers, telehealth benefits include better access to specialised services in remote regions, improved continuity of care, and increased availability of information. Telehealth also improves physicians' practice by facilitating continuing medical education, contacts with peers, and access to a second opinion. At the hospital and health region levels, telehealth has the potential to support the development of regional reference centres, favour retention of local expertise, and save costs. Conditions for successful implementation of telehealth networks include the participation of clinicians in decision-making, the availability of dedicated human and material resources, and a planned diffusion strategy. Interviews with physicians and managers also highlighted the importance of considering telehealth within the broader organisation of health care services in remote and rural regions. CONCLUSION: This study identified core elements that should be considered when implementing telehealth applications with the purpose of supporting medical practice in rural and remote regions. Decision-makers need to be aware of the specific conditions that could influence telehealth integration into clinical practices and health care organisations. Thus, strategies addressing the identified conditions for telehealth success would facilitate the optimal implementation of this technology

From recommendation to action: psychosocial factors influencing physician intention to use Health Technology Assessment (HTA) recommendations

BACKGROUND: Evaluating the impact of recommendations based upon health technology assessment (HTA) represents a challenge for both HTA agencies and healthcare policy-makers. Using a psychosocial theoretical framework, this study aimed at exploring the factors affecting physician intention to adopt HTA recommendations. The selected recommendations were prioritisation systems for patients on waiting lists for two surgical procedures: hip and knee replacement and cataract surgery. METHODS: Determinants of physician intention to use HTA recommendations for patient prioritisation were assessed by a questionnaire based upon the Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour. A total of 96 physicians from two medical specialties (ophthalmology and orthopaedic surgery) responded to the questionnaire (response rate 44.2%). A multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to assess differences between medical specialties on the set of theoretical variables. Given the main effect difference between specialties, two regression models were tested separately to assess the psychosocial determinants of physician intention to use HTA recommendations for the prioritisation of patients on waiting lists for surgical procedures. RESULTS: Factors influencing physician intention to use HTA recommendations differ between groups of specialists. Intention to use the prioritisation system for patients on waiting lists for cataract surgery among ophthalmologists was related to attitude towards the behaviour, social norms, as well as personal normative beliefs. Intention to use HTA recommendations for patient prioritisation for hip and knee replacement among orthopaedic surgeons was explained by: perception of conditions that facilitated the realisation of the behaviour, personal normative beliefs, and habit of using HTA recommendations in clinical work. CONCLUSION: This study offers a model to assess factors influencing the intention to adopt recommendations from health technology assessment into professional practice. Results identify determinant factors that should be considered in the elaboration of strategies to support the implementation of evidence-based practice, with respect to emerging health technologies and modalities of practice. However, it is important to emphasise that behavioural determinants of evidence-based practice vary according to the specific technology considered. Evidence-based implementation of HTA recommendations, as well as other evidence-based practices, should build on a theoretical understanding of the complex forces that shape the practice of healthcare professionals

Selection of the silicon sensor thickness for the Phase-2 upgrade of the CMS Outer Tracker

During the operation of the CMS experiment at the High-Luminosity LHC the silicon sensors of the Phase-2 Outer Tracker will be exposed to radiation levels that could potentially deteriorate their performance. Previous studies had determined that planar float zone silicon with n-doped strips on a p-doped substrate was preferred over p-doped strips on an n-doped substrate. The last step in evaluating the optimal design for the mass production of about 200 m$^{2}$ of silicon sensors was to compare sensors of baseline thickness (about 300 μm) to thinned sensors (about 240 μm), which promised several benefits at high radiation levels because of the higher electric fields at the same bias voltage. This study provides a direct comparison of these two thicknesses in terms of sensor characteristics as well as charge collection and hit efficiency for fluences up to 1.5 × 10$^{15}$ n$_{eq}$/cm$^{2}$. The measurement results demonstrate that sensors with about 300 μm thickness will ensure excellent tracking performance even at the highest considered fluence levels expected for the Phase-2 Outer Tracker

High resolution EBIC and TEM investigations on CdTe solar cells

By the use of an ion beam preparation technique polished cross sections of cadmium telluride thin film solar cells are prepared, which enables a high resolution FE-SEM imaging of microstructure and interfaces and simultaneously the measurement of the electron beam induced current (EBIC). The effect of electron beam accelerating voltage on EBIC signal distribution was investigated. The best lateral resolution of the EBIC signal could be obtained for a relative low EB accelerating voltage of 2 keV. After increasing the accelerating voltages to 5 and 10 keV the lateral resolution is deteriorated, which can be explained by the increasing electron range. EBIC results with high lateral resolution show that mainly areas near to the grain boundaries of the CdTe crystallites contribute to the measured signal, which can be interpreted as evidence for grain boundary near states passivation. Further it could be shown that especially small CdTe grains near the CdS interface possesses to a high EBIC signal. These results can be discussed as an effect of the chlorine diffusion during activation treatment. Because of small volume diffusion coefficient of chlorine in CdTe the diffusion occurs preferably along the grain boundaries. By the further slow volume diffusion mainly the outer regions of the grains are affected

Nanocomposite oxide and nitride hard coatings produced by pulse magnetron sputtering

In this work, the composition and the microstructure of two-phase hard coatings have been varied by reactive pulsed co-sputtering of two target materials to produce nanocomposite structures. Two material systems have been studied for their potential of improved properties induced by phase segregation: the nitride system Ti-Al-N and the oxide system Al-Zr-O. Both systems combine well-established hard coating materials and hold the potential for nanocomposite formation. The nitride system is known to exhibit enhanced properties when the composition Ti1-xAlxN is in the range x = 0.5 ... 0.7. Pulse magnetron sputtering allows tuning of the composition in this range by varying the pulse durations of the two materials sputtered. nc-(Ti,Al)N/nc-AlN films with hardness up to 38 GPa have been produced by optimising composition and microstructure. In the oxide system, nc-Al2O3/ZrO2 coatings with ?-phase Al2O3 of hardness about 30 GPa are obtained only when the ZrO2 content is below 8 at.%. With increasing zirconia content the films become amorphous and exhibit hardness of 10 GPa. At low alumina content, crystalline zirconia is stabilized in its tetragonal phase exhibiting hardness of 17 GPa

Angular deficits in flat space: Remotely controllable apertures in nematic solid sheets

Recent attention has been given to the realization of angular deficits and surpluses in the local ground-state geometry of thin sheets of nematic solids as out-of-plane deformations. Such systems exhibit conical or anti-conical curvature sites, or possibly arrays of such polyhedral corners, in order to satisfy the material's spontaneous strain-generated metric requirements. Here, we turn the angular deficit requirement on its head, and show theoretically and experimentally that by appropriately altering the topology of the initially flat sheet-for example, by cutting it in carefully chosen regions-the same angular deficits and surpluses may manifest simply in-plane by changing the geometry of the cut region. Such amechanism offers a route to apertures or arrays of apertures that may be reversibly opened and closed by applying spontaneous strain with heat, light or chemical potential. Copyright © The Royal Society 2013.M.W. thanks the EPSRC for funding under grant no. EP/E051251/1, and C.S.S. thanks the Spanish MINECO project MAT2011-27978-C02-02, CSIC project i-LINK0394, Gobierno de Aragón, and FEDER funding (EU) for their financial support.Peer Reviewe