Ion induced chemical damage to surfaces : an investigation by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The current upsurge in the use of ion beam techniques in the fabrication of microelectronic devices has meant a greater understanding of the processes involved. The physical aspects of this technique have been, and continue to be, widely researched. However, until recently, little work had been undertaken into the chemical aspects of sputtering. The commonly used theories explaining preferential and chemical sputtering are described together with an overview of the main theories describing physical sputtering. As an extension to the theories covering chemical aspects of sputtering, an appendix is included which covers the commonly available references, up to the end of 1983, which have included chemical changes associated with sputtering. The aim of the project was to extend the range of materials which had been examined, to measure the degree of chemical damage induced by sputtering. As such, a range of Group I and Group IV salts were studied and the results presented herein are discussed with reference to possible mechanisms of dissociation. A non-destructive surface sensitive analytical technique was essential to this study and the method chosen was X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, of which some of the background theory is also included

Additional file 2: of Small-area spatio-temporal analyses of bladder and kidney cancer risk in Nova Scotia, Canada

Spatial cross-validation scores for the selection of optimal bandwidths. (PNG 152 kb

Additional file 1: of Small-area spatio-temporal analyses of bladder and kidney cancer risk in Nova Scotia, Canada

Analytical details [ 27 , 55 , 56]. (DOC 42 kb

Hybrid Plasmonic Photonic Crystal Cavity for Enhancing Emission from near-Surface Nitrogen Vacancy Centers in Diamond

Optical cavities create regions of high field intensity, which can be used for selective spectral enhancement of emitters such as the nitrogen vacancy center (NV) in diamond. This report discusses a hybrid metal–diamond photonic crystal cavity, which provides greater localization of the electric field than dielectric cavities and mitigates metal-related losses in existing plasmonic structures. We fabricated such hybrid structures using silver and single-crystal diamond and observed emission enhancement of NVs near the diamond surface. We measured a mode quality factor (<i>Q</i>) as high as 170 with a simulated mode volume of ∼0.1 (λ/<i>n</i>)³ and demonstrated its tunability. This cavity design and the associated fabrication approach specifically target enhancement of emission from near-surface NVs

Table_1_The potential interaction between medical treatment and radioiodine treatment success: A systematic review.docx

IntroductionRadioactive iodine (RAI) therapy is a critical component in the post-surgical management of thyroid cancer patients, as well as being a central therapeutic option in the treatment of hyperthyroidism. Previous work suggests that antithyroid drugs hinder the efficacy of RAI therapy in patients. However, the effects of other background medications on RAI treatment efficacy have not been evaluated. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the potential off-target effects of medication on RAI therapy in patients with thyroid cancer and hyperthyroidism.MethodsSystematic review and meta-analysis according to the 2020 PRISMA guidelines. Databases searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library for studies published between 2001 and 2021.ResultsSixty-nine unique studies were identified. After screening, 17 studies with 3313 participants were included. One study investigated thyroid cancer, with the rest targeted to hyperthyroidism. The majority of studies evaluated the effects of antithyroid drugs; the other drugs studied included lithium, prednisone and glycididazole sodium. Antithyroid drugs were associated with negative impacts on post-RAI outcomes (n = 5 studies, RR = 0.81, p = 0.02). However, meta-analysis found moderate heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 51%, τ2 = 0.0199, p = 0.08). Interestingly, lithium (n = 3 studies), prednisone (n = 1 study) and glycididazole (n = 1 study) appeared to have positive impacts on post-RAI outcomes upon qualitative analysis.ConclusionOur systematic review strengthens previous work on antithyroid medication effects on RAI, and highlights that this field remains under researched especially for background medications unrelated to thyroid disease, with very few papers on non-thyroid medications published.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php, identifier CRD42021274026.</p

Additional file 2: Table S1. of Interim analysis of survival in a prospective, multi-center registry cohort of cutaneous melanoma tested with a prognostic 31-gene expression profile test

Cox regression analysis for distant metastasis-free (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) in the 322-subject cohort. (DOCX 12 kb

Simulation of national-scale groundwater dynamics in geologically complex aquifer systems: an example from Great Britain

The national-scale British Groundwater Model (BGWM) is implemented to simulate groundwater dynamics and budgets in Great Britain. Notwithstanding the challenges of integrating a very large amount of data, finding a trade-off between computational efficiency and realism, performing automatic calibration, and addressing multiple sources of structural and parameter uncertainty, a quantitative–qualitive evaluation approach showed that the BGWM provides a reasonably accurate digital representation of groundwater systems and processes at a national scale. In this work, the model was applied to understand the variability of budget components across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Comparisons showed regional differences linked to lithological and climatic factors, which in turn can be associated with more or less groundwater resilience to extreme climatic events. There is confidence that the current and future versions of the BGWM can become valuable tools for effective water resources management and adaptation strategies under future climatic and population changes.</p

Additional file 1: Figure S1. of Interim analysis of survival in a prospective, multi-center registry cohort of cutaneous melanoma tested with a prognostic 31-gene expression profile test

Survival outcomes for stage I/II patients with molecular classification by the 31-gene expression profile test. A) Recurrence-free survival, B) distant metastasis-free survival, and C) overall survival for Class 1 and Class 2 subjects with stage I or stage II disease (n = 282). (TIFF 192 kb

Binding affinities of anti-VEGF-A RabMAb EBV321 and its humanized version.

<p><i>k_on</i>, association rate constant; <i>k_off</i>, dissociation rate constant; <i>K_D</i>, equilibrium constant; χ², chi-squared distribution.</p

Mutational lineage guided humanization of anti-VEGF RabMAb EBV321.

<p>(<b>A–B</b>) Phylogenetic analysis of VK (<b>A</b>) and VH (<b>B</b>) amino acid sequences of 15 neutralizing anti-VEGF RabMAbs by Clustal X. The human antigen-specific clones are underlined. RabMAbs of the same lineage group are boxed and labeled as 1, 2 or 3. (<b>C–D</b>) Alignments of VH (<b>C</b>) and VK (<b>D</b>) protein sequence of the EBV321 lineage group 2 (EBV302, EBV307, EBV320 and EBV321) with human germline and humanized EBV321 sequences. ‘–’ denotes residues that are identical at the corresponding positions. ‘*’ denotes the residues in RabMAb framework regions potentially involved in CDR contacts or inter-chain contacts. ‘$’ denotes the residues considered not critical to the structural activity. ‘#’ denotes the residues humanized in the CDR region. Chothia numbering scheme and Kabat CDR loop definition were used <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0009072#pone.0009072-AlLazikani1" target="_blank">[55]</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0009072#pone.0009072-Kabat1" target="_blank">[56]</a>.</p