Search

We have attached single ferromagnetic particles of 8 μm diameter to the tips of microfabricated atomic force microscope cantilevers. These cantilevers were magnetized to fix the magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic particles and scanned in a controlled manner over a spin valve structure of dimension 12×8 μm2. Two dimensional image scans representing the change in resistance of the spin valve due to a scanning bead were obtained. The results are explained using a simple model where the scanning bead is treated as a pure dipole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exponential contrast stretching (ECS) technique is developed to reduce the charging effects on scanning electron microscope images. Compared to some of the conventional histogram equalization methods, such as bi-histogram equalization and recursive mean-separate histogram equalization, the proposed ECS method yields better image compensation. Diode sample chips with insulating and conductive surfaces are used as test samples to evaluate the efficiency of the developed algorithm. The algorithm is implemented in software with a frame grabber card, forming the front-end video capture element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is ongoing controversy as to the indications for and extent of lateral cervical lymphadenectomy for patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). While most now agree that prophylactic lymph node dissections (LND) play no role, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) we limit LND selectively on a level by level basis, and resect only the levels thought to harbor disease or to be at increased risk of metastases. This initial ,selective LND′ usually includes levels III and IV (due to the well-documented increased likelihood of metastases to these levels) and levels I, II, and V are included when there is clinical or radiological evidence of disease or increased risk of it. Methods: A retrospective review of the clinical charts and hospital records of 106 consecutive patients who had metastatic PTC and who underwent at least one lateral cervical LND at UCSF between January 1995 and December 2003 was carried out. Data were collected to assess which patients had levels I, II, and/or V included in their initial ipsilateral and/or contralateral LND and to determine the recurrence rates at these levels if they had previously been excised compared with if they had not. Chi-squared and Fisher exact tests were utilized for statistical comparison, where appropriate. Results: A total of 140 initial lateral LND were performed: 104 ipsilateral and 36 contralateral. In these initial LND, 3.9%, 72.5%, and 18.6% of patients had levels I, II, and V resected on the ipsilateral side, and 2.9%, 60.0%, and 37.1% of patients had levels I, II, and V resected on the contralateral side. Recurrence at levels I and V was uncommon in all patient populations. Recurrence at level II was 19% ipsilaterally and 10% contralaterally when the level was previously resected and 21% ipsilaterally and 14% contralaterally when the level was not previously resected. There was no statistically significant difference in recurrence at level II when the level had previously been resected compared with when it had not. Conclusions: If utilized in the appropriate patient population, a selective approach to lateral cervical LND for PTC can be a successful alternative to the routine modified radical LND. Levels I and V do not require resection unless there is clinical or radiological evidence of disease. Guidelines for which patients may be considered for this less aggressive approach to level II nodal metastases are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Java is widely applied in current embedded systems due to its object-oriented features and advantages such as security, robustness, and platform independence. A Java virtual machine is needed to execute Java programs. However, in most of the existing solutions to Java virtual machines, the overhead of executing object-oriented related instructions is significant and becomes the bottleneck of system performance. To solve this problem, a novel Java processor called jHISC is proposed, which mainly targets J2ME and embedded applications. In jHISC, the object-oriented related instructions are implemented by hardware directly, as a hardware-readable data structure is used to represent the object. The complete system with 4 kB instruction cache and 8 kB data cache is described by VHDL and implemented in a Xilinx Virtex FPGA. It occupies 601 859 equivalent gates and the maximum clock frequency of the system is about 30 MHz. Compared with PicoJava II, the overall performance is speeded up 1 to 7.4 times and the execution efficiency of object-oriented related bytecodes is improved by 0.91 to 13.2 times for the same clock frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ELISA was used to titrate the antibody response in mice inoculated with .salmonella antigens. The genetically resistant A/J and susceptible C57BL/6J mice were either infected with the virulent or the a virulent Salmonella lyphimurium. Alternatively, they were inoculated either once or twice with the heat-killed salmonella vaccine. No appreciable difference could be detected in the relative ability of these two strains of mice to produce antibodies against the lipopolysaccharide antigens of this patbogen under these four conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the demonstration of underwater thermoacoustic (TA) sound generation using three-dimensional graphene (3D-C). 3D-C is able to interface with water as the immediate acoustic medium, resulting in reduced attenuation across solid packaging encapsulation due to favorable acoustic impedance matching. This is shown using array configurations of 2*2 and 4*4 individual 3D-C elements prepared onto printed circuit boards and secured within a watertight cuboid Delrin container with deionized water. Comparisons of underwater acoustic performance between internal medium of water and air shows significant improvement in measured sound pressure level (SPL) with internal water medium, in contrast with internal air medium where SPL were below noise floor. This demonstration opens up new possibilities of 3D-C for underwater acoustic applications. Simulations are conducted using 3D finite element model generated with COMSOL Multiphysics and validated with experimental results. A revised formulation of transmission voltage response (TVR) specific to TA sound generation is proposed due to the difference in power scaling of TA sound generation and subsequently validated using simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the implementation of cross-line operation in high-speed railway system, accessibility of cross-line passengers on the railway network has substantially improved. However, due to limitations of capacity, it is hard to schedule a conflict-free timetable based on a train line plan with many cross-line trains. In order to generate a feasible and optimal transportation plan, a novel methodology is introduced. The approach can simultaneously optimize both the line plans of cross-line trains and train timetable, aiming at having a trade-off between operating profit and direct service. Based on an event-activity network framework, a mixed integer programming model is established. Considering service quality would decline after optimizing line plan and train schedules, the objective of the model is set to minimize deviations from ideal schedules for main-line trains while maximize direct service frequency for cross-line passengers. To solve large-scale scenarios efficiently, an enhanced heuristic genetic algorithm is developed. Two smaller-scale cases are devised to validate the efficiency of the model and approach. Finally, the model and the algorithm are applied to a real-world scenario involving the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway and its connecting lines. Also, comparative experiments, including a scenario without cross-line optimization, are conducted to evaluate the advantage of the proposed approach. The result shows the approach can help to quickly find a feasible solution and have a good balance between operating profit and passenger demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate the use of surface plasmons (SPs) excited on a two-layered metallic film for enhanced particle propulsion. The extended SP field is predominantly attributed to propel particles with increased speed along metal-deposited regions. Various silver-gold combinations were used to quantify for the SP field enhancement. The underlying silver yields better SP evanescent field enhancement, while the overlying gold ensures that the stability of the sensing surface is not compromised. In comparison to the conventional single gold film SP resonance configuration for particle manipulation, the two-layered metallic structure enhances the propulsive force, as verified experimentally by ∼2.0 times increase in particle velocities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cu wire bonding research has exploded exponentially in the past few years. Many studies have been carried out to understand the different behaviours of Cu wire and Au wire. One of the observations on Cu wire bonding is the excessive formation of aluminium (Al) splash on the bond pad due to a higher bond force. This leads to pad peeling and bond failure resulting in poor reliability performance of Cu and PdCu wire semiconductor devices. It is known that the Al splash is influenced by the front-end pad metal process and back-end wire bond process. Reported is the design of an experiment carried out to study a few factors that could influence the Al splash. The characterisation work is implemented to understand the bond pad structure using the focused ion beam (FIB) followed by a hardness test of bond pad metallisation. Then the mechanical cross-section is taken to measure the Al splash in three different directions. The results show that Al splash can be controlled by optimising the bond pad thickness, hardness and additive for reliable Cu and PdCu wire bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the distribution of 5-HT receptors in the human colon. 5-HT induces desensitization of the circular muscle and as this is facilitated by G-protein coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) and other proteins, we also examined their distribution. Human sigmoid colon samples were dissected into three separate layers (mucosa, taeniae coli and intertaenial strips) and RNA was amplified by RT-PCR. The 5-HT2B receptor and all 5-HT7 receptor splice variants were expressed in all tissues. 5-HT4 a,b,c and n splice variants were also expressed in all tissues and 5-HT4d, 5-HT4g and 5-HT4i were only detected in some samples. The 5-HT2A receptor was seen predominantly in the intertaenial strips of the colon. Only one transcript of the serotonin transporter (SERT) was detected in the muscle layers. Variation was seen in GRK expression with GRK2 and 3 predominantly expressed in the mucosa, while GRK5 and 6 were found more commonly in the taeniae coli. PDZ (named after postsynaptic density protein, Drosophila disc large tumour suppressor and tight junction protein ZO-1) domain containing proteins, which may be involved in 5-HT receptor trafficking, were also detected throughout the sigmoid colon. The 5-HT3A subunit was expressed in all tissues, whereas the 5-HT3E subunit was mainly found in the mucosa layer while the 5-HT3B subunit was more common in the muscle layers. Receptor interacting chaperone (RIC-3), which is involved in transporting 5-HT3 receptor subunits, is expressed less in mucosa compared to muscle layers. In conclusion, these results show that there is variation in distribution of 5-HT receptors and interacting proteins within the sigmoid colon that may contribute to colonic function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A proposal to assess the quality of scanning electron microscope images using mixed Lagrange time delay estimation technique is presented. With optimal scanning electron microscope scan rate information, online images can be quantified and improved. The online quality assessment technique is embedded onto a scanning electron microscope frame grabber card for real-time image processing. Different images are captured using scanning electron microscope and a database is built to optimally choose filter parameters. An optimum choice of filter parameters is obtained. With the optimum choice of scan rate, noise can be removed from real-time scanning electron microscope images without causing any sample contamination or increasing scanning time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to obtain more information regarding the ‘atypical’ 5-HT7 receptor of the rat jejunum. 5-HT7-induced contractions of the jejunum were elicited by 5-HT in the presence of ondansetron. Maximal responses were slightly larger in tissues from male compared to female rats of comparable age, with Emax values of 97.2 ± 3.3 and 84.25 ± 4.3% respectively compared to acetylcholine as an internal standard. However, the pEC50 valuesfor 5-HT were not significantly different. The mRNA expression levels of the 5-HT7 receptor were similar in whole jejunum and longitudinal muscle tissues taken from males and females. It was also shown that the maximal response of the jejunum from male rats was larger than the responses from mid intestine and ileum. However, in female tissues, the Emax of the mid intestine was significantly larger than the ileum, but not different from the jejunum. The results provide further insights into the ‘atypical’ 5-HT7 receptor of the rat jejunum and are also useful in optimising the preparation for further studies. Copyright © 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron containing diamond-like amorphous carbon (a-C:Fe) films were deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique. The influences of Fe content and substrate bias on the surface energy of the films were investigated. The surface energy of a-C:Fe films was determined by the contact angle measurement. Atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray induced photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to analyze the origin of the variation of surface energy with various Fe content and substrate bias. It is found that the contact angle for water increases significantly after incorporating Fe into the films and the films become hydrophobic. The roughness of these films has no effect on the contact angle. The surface energy is reduced from 42.8 to 25 dyne/cm after incorporating Fe into the a-C film (10% Fe in the target), which is due to the reduction of both dispersive and polar component. The reduction in dispersive component is ascribed to the decrease of atomic density of the a-C:Fe films due to the increase in sp[sup 2] bonded carbon. When sp[sup 2] content increases to some extent, the atomic density remains constant and hence dispersive component does not change. The absorption of oxygen on the surface plays an important role in the reduction of the polar component for the a-C:Fe films. It is proposed that such network as (C[sub n]-O-Fe)-O-(Fe-O-C[sub n]) may be formed and responsible for the reduction of polar component. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate how force detection methods based on atomic force microscopy can be used to measure displacement in micromechanical devices. We show the operation of a simple microfabricated accelerometer, the proof mass of which incorporates a tip which can be moved towards an opposing surface. Both noncontact operation using long range electrostatic forces and tapping mode operation are demonstrated. The displacement sensitivity of the present device using feedback to control the tip-surface separation is approximately 1 nm. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the 'darker than black' association attributed to carbon nanotube forests, here is shown that it is also possible to grow these structures, over heat-sensitive substrates, featuring highly transmissive characteristics from the UV to infrared wavelengths, for forest heights as high as 20 μm. The optical transmission is interpreted in terms of light propagation along channels that are self-generated by localized bundling of tubes, acting as waveguides. A good correlation is shown between the distribution of diameter sizes of these sub-wavelength voids and the transmission spectrum of the forests. For the shorter visible and near-UV wavelengths, this model shows that light propagates by channeling along individual vertical voids in the forests, which elucidates the origin for the widely-reported near-zero reflectance values observed in forests. For the longer infrared wavelengths, the mode spreads over many nanotubes and voids, and propagates along a 'homogeneous effective medium'. The strong absorption of the forest at the shorter wavelengths is correlated in terms of the stronger attenuation inside a waveguide cavity, according to the λ−1/2 attenuation dependency of standard waveguide theory. The realization of this material can lead to novel avenues in new optoelectronic device design, where the carbon nanotube forests can be used as highly conducting 'scaffolds' for optically active materials, whilst also allowing light to penetrate to significant depths into the structure, in excess of 20 μm, enabling optical functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, analytical formulations are deduced to determine reflection points on cylinders and cones, and even cylinder-cone systems. With these analytical formulations, a parallel UTD code is developed based on MPI using domain decomposition method. Since no data exchanging is needed during the calculation, the parallel code has a relatively ideal speedup. Numerical results show the efficiency of analytical ray-tracing techniques and the parallel code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]