Design of experiment for the optimisation of deep reactive ion etching of silicon inserts for micro-fabrication

The following paper describes a design of experiments investigation of the deep reactive of pillar structures on a silicon wafer. The etched wafers would subsequently be used as masters for the fabrication of nickel mould inserts for microinjection moulding. Undercuts occur when the pillar base has a smaller cross-section than the apex of the pillar. They therefore affect tolerances of the subsequent nickel mould, its strength and its de-mouldability from the silicon form. The response measured in these experiments was the degree of undercut of micro-scale (10 μm x 10 μm x 40 μm, 5 μm x 5 μm x 40 μm and 2 μm x 2 μm x 40 μm) The literature suggests that gas pressure, platen power, gas flow rate, phase switching times and mask size can all affect the degree of undercut. After examination of this literature, and of manufacturers guidelines, three parameters were selected for experimental testing: platen power, C 4F 8 gas flow rate during the passivation phase and switching times. Switching times was found to be the only statistically significant parameter for both 10x10 μm and 5x5 μm pillars. The 2x2 μm pillars were not successfully replicated and could therefore not undergo statistical evaluation

Contact metamorphism in the Malashan dome, North Himalayan gneiss domes, southern Tibet: An example of shallow extensional tectonics in the Tethys Himalaya

Combined petrographic, structural and geochronological study of the Malashan dome, one of the North Himalayan gneiss domes, reveals that it is cored by a Miocene granite, the Malashan granite, that intruded into the Jurassic sedimentary rocks of Tethys Himalaya. Two other granites in the area are referred to as the Paiku and Cuobu granites. New zircon SHRIMP U-Pb and muscovite and biotite 40Ar-39Ar dating show that the Paiku granite was emplaced during 22.2–16.2 Ma (average 19.3 ± 3.9 Ma) and cooled rapidly to 350–400 °C at around 15.9 Ma. Whole-rock granite chemistry suggests the original granitic magma may have formed by muscovite dehydration melting of a protolith chemically similar to the High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence. Abundant calcareous metasedimentary rocks and minor garnet-staurolite-biotite-muscovite ± andalusite schists record contact metamorphism by three granites that intruded intermittently into the Jurassic sediments between 18.5 and 15.3 Ma. Two stages of widespread penetrative ductile deformation, D1 and D2, can be defined. Microstructural studies of metapelites combined with geothermobarometry and pseudosection analyses yield P–T conditions of 4.8 ± 0.8 kbar at 550 ± 50 °C during a non-deformational stage between D1 and D2, and 3.1–4.1 kbar at 530–575 °C during syn- to post-D2. The pressure estimates for the syn- to post-D2 growth of andalusite suggest relatively shallow (depth of ∼15.2 km) extensional ductile deformation that took place within a shear zone of the South Tibetan Detachment System. Close temporal association between intrusion of the Malashan granite and onset of D2 suggests extension may have been triggered by the intrusion of the Malashan granite

Influence of renal replacement modalities on amikacin population pharmacokinetics in critically ill patients on continuous renal replacement therapy

The objective of this study was to describe amikacin pharmacokinetics (PK) in critically ill patients receiving equal doses (30 ml/kg of body weight/h) of continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) and continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF). Patients receiving amikacin and undergoing CVVH or CVVHDF were eligible. Population pharmacokinetic analysis and Monte Carlo simulation were undertaken using the Pmetrics software package for R. Sixteen patients (9 undergoing CVVH, 11 undergoing CVVHDF) and 20 sampling intervals were analyzed. A two-compartment linear model best described the data. Patient weight was the only covariate that was associated with drug clearance. The mean +/- standard deviation parameter estimates were 25.2 +/- 17.3 liters for the central volume, 0.89 +/- 1.17 h(-1) for the rate constant for the drug distribution from the central to the peripheral compartment, 2.38 +/- 6.60 h(-1) for the rate constant for the drug distribution from the peripheral to the central compartment, 4.45 +/- 2.35 liters/h for hemodiafiltration clearance, and 4.69 +/- 2.42 liters/h for hemofiltration clearance. Dosing simulations for amikacin supported the use of high dosing regimens (>= 25 mg/kg) and extended intervals (36 to 48 h) for most patients when considering PK/pharmacodynamic (PD) targets of a maximum concentration in plasma (C-max)/MIC ratio of >= 8 and a minimal concentration o

Middle to Late Miocene Extremely Rapid Exhumation and Thermal Reequilibration in the Kung Co Rift, Southern Tibet

The Kung Co rift is an approximately NNW striking, WSW dipping normal fault exposed in southern Tibet and is part of an extensive network of active approximately NS striking normal faults exposed across the Tibetan Plateau. Detailed new and published (U-Th)/He zircon and apatite thermochronometric data from the footwall of the early Miocene Kung Co granite provide constraints on the middle Miocene to present-day exhumation history of the footwall to the Kung Co fault. Inverse modeling of thermochronometric data yield age patterns that are interpreted as indicating (1) initiation of normal fault slip at ∼12–13 Ma and rapid exhumation of the footwall between ∼13 and 10 Ma, (2) acceleration of normal fault slip at rates of 21.9–6.9 mm/yr at ∼10 Ma, (3) rapid thermal reequilibration between 10 and 9 Ma, and (4) slow exhumation and/or quiescence from ∼9 Ma to the present day. Hanging glacial valleys in the footwall and fault scarps that cut late Quaternary till and moraine deposits indicate that fault slip continues today. Middle to late Miocene initiation of extension across the Kung Co rift is broadly the same as the documented initiation of EW extension across the south central Tibetan Plateau. Eastward flow of middle or lower crust from beneath Tibet accommodated by northward underthrusting of Indian crust beneath Tibet provides a plausible explanation for the onset of EW extension across the Tibetan Plateau

The IT framework of the European Archive of Historical Earthquake Data (AHEAD)

The European Archive of Historical EArthquake Data (AHEAD) has been developed in the frame of the EC project NERIES and maintained in the frame of the EC project SHARE.AHEAD makes available on the web the result of a networked historical earthquake data research, formalised in terms of studies (papers, reports, macroseismic data points, etc). It provides an updated wealth of data that are unique for many European events in the time-window 1000-1963.A series of IT solutions have been developed in order to support both the research and the networking activities carried out within the building process of AHEAD. The resulting framework is an equally balanced effort in both the back-end and front-end design and implementation, a key feature in a research approach very much human-centred, where the quantity of data is small if compared to terabytes of instrumental data.AHEAD is composed of five mutually dependent data-components: 1) the “Digital Library”, where all the historical earthquake studies are stored and described by bibliographical metadata, 2) the “Consensus Earthquake Inventory”, where the relevant macroseismic data (event date, epicentral area, number of macroseismic data-point, maximum observed intensity) are extrapolated, the best available information are selected and fake earthquakes are highlighted, 3) the “European Macroseismic Database”, where all the available macroseismic data-points (MDPs) are stored, 4) the “Parameters Laboratory”, where earthquakes parameterisation methods are applied to MDPs in order to obtain epicentral locations and magnitudes and 5) the “European Earthquake Catalogue”.The presentation will demonstrate the adopted IT solutions separately for the back-end and the front-end, both for the access-restricted website and the general-purpose implementation designed to be included in the “Earthquake Data Portal”, developed within the EC project NERIES, which targets a much broader scientific community

Cognitive biases to healthy and unhealthy food words predict change in BMI

The current study explored the predictive value of cognitive biases to food cues (assessed by emotional Stroop and dot probe tasks) on weight change over a 1-year period. This was a longitudinal study with undergraduate students (N = 102) living in shared student accommodation. After controlling for the effects of variables associated with weight (e.g., physical activity, stress, restrained eating, external eating, and emotional eating), no effects of cognitive bias were found with the dot probe. However, for the emotional Stroop, cognitive bias to unhealthy foods predicted an increase in BMI whereas cognitive bias to healthy foods was associated with a decrease in BMI. Results parallel findings in substance abuse research; cognitive biases appear to predict behavior change. Accordingly, future research should consider strategies for attentional retraining, encouraging individuals to reorient attention away from unhealthy eating cues

The Theory of Fuzzy Logic and its application to Real Estate Valuation

Fuzzy logic is based on the central idea that in fuzzy sets each element in the set can assume a value from 0 to 1, not just 0 or 1, as in classic set theory. Thus, qualitative characteristics and numerically scaled measures can exhibit gradations in the extent to which they belong to the relevant sets for evaluation. This degree of membership of each element is a measure of the element’s "belonging" to the set, and thus of the precision with which it explains the phenomenon being evaluated. Fuzzy sets can be combined to produce meaningful conclusions, and inferences can be made, given a specified fuzzy input function. The article demonstrates the application of fuzzy logic to an income-producing property, with a resulting fuzzy set output

A validated method for the quantification of fosfomycin on dried plasma spots by HPLC-MS/MS: application to a pilot pharmacokinetic study in humans

Quantification of fosfomycin in the plasma samples of patients is the basis of clinical pharmacokinetic studies from which evidence based dosing regimens can be devised to maximise antibiotic effectiveness against a pathogen. We have developed and validated a LC–MS/MS method to quantify fosfomycin using dried plasma spot sampling. Following HILIC chromatography, fosfomycin and ethylphosphonic acid, used as internal standard, were measured using negative-ion multiple reaction monitoring. The method was linear over the calibration range of 5–2000 mg/L of fosfomycin. Intra-day assay results for dried plasma spot quality control samples at 15.6, 79.9 and 1581 mg/L of fosfomycin had precision of ±4.2, 8.2, and 2.0%, respectively, and accuracy of +3.9, −0.1, and −1.2%, respectively. Recovery of fosfomycin from dried plasma spots was calculated as 83.6% and the dried plasma spot samples were found to be stable stored at room temperature for three months and when stored for four hours at 50 °C. A Bland–Altman plot comparing DPS to plasma sampling found a negative bias of 16.6%, with all but one sample within the mean limits of agreement (−2.6 to 30.6%). Dried plasma spot sampling provides a useful tool for pharmacokinetic research of fosfomycin

Effect of obesity on the population pharmacokinetics of meropenem in critically ill patients

Severe pathophysiological changes in critical illness can lead to dramatically altered antimicrobial pharmacokinetics (PK). The additional effect of obesity on PK potentially increases the challenge for effective dosing. The aim of this prospective study was to describe the population PK of meropenem for a cohort of critically ill patients, including obese and morbidly obese patients. Critically ill patients prescribed meropenem were recruited into the following three body mass index (BMI) groups: nonobese (18.5 to 29.9 kg/m(2)), obese (30.0 to 39.9 kg/m(2)), and morbidly obese (>= 40 kg/m(2)). Serial plasma samples were taken, and meropenem concentrations were determined using a validated chromatographic method. Population PK analysis and Monte Carlo dosing simulations were undertaken with Pmetrics. Nineteen critically ill patients with different BMI categories were enrolled. The patients' mean +/- standard deviation (SD) age, weight, and BMI were 49 +/- 15.9 years, 95 +/- 22.0 kg, and 33 +/- 7.0 kg/m(2), respectively. A two-compartment model described the data adequately. The mean +/- SD parameter estimates for the final covariate model were as follows: clearance (CL), 15.5 +/- 6.0 liters/h; volume of distribution in the central compartment (V-1), 11.7 +/- 5.8 liters; intercompartmental clearance from the central compartment to the peripheral compartment, 25.6 +/- 35.1 liters h(-1); and intercompartmental clearance from the peripheral compartment to the central compartment, 8.32 +/- 12.24 liters h(-1). Higher creatinine clearance (CLCR) was associated with a lower probability of target attainment, with BMI having little effect. Although obesity was found to be associated with an increased V-1, dose adjustment based on CLCR appears to be more important than patient BMI