Fluorinated silica glass (FSG) has been widely used as an intermetal dielectric (IMD) due to its low dielectric constant (low k) and is normally deposited by a two-step process. This process consists ...of a high-density plasma (HDP) FSG layer for gap-fill, followed by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) FSG layer for planarization and as an IMD. The interface between these two films plays an important role in film property and stability. A silicon-rich layer at the interface of the two layers can cause an adhesion issue which can lead to film delamination during subsequent thermal cycles. This is a serious reliability problem for the wafer fabrication process. This paper focuses on the effect of the silane (SiH4) gas flow rate when switching from HDP to PECVD and its effect on the interface layer properties. Experiments were carried out with multiple recipe conditions of varying delays in switching the silane gas flow. Inline measurement of goodness of fit (GOF) and failure analysis (FA) data were collected for analysis. A shorter delay for the silane gas flow ramp during recipe switching formed a silicon-rich layer at the interface, which causes delamination. A perfect SiO2 interface with no silicon-rich layer is observed for a delay of 5sec or more, which is desirable for good film properties and wafer quality. This finding can be applied to improve adhesion and reliability on other processes such as IMD liner or STI HDP liner where a non-homogeneous film stack is formed by switching silane gas flow rate.
ATP and norepinephrine (NE) are coreleased from peripheral sympathetic nerve terminals. Whether they are stored in the same vesicles has been debated for decades. Preferential dependence of NE or ATP ...release on Ca
influx through specific voltage-gated Ca
channel (Cav2) isoforms suggests that NE and ATP are stored in separate vesicle pools, but simultaneous imaging of NE and ATP containing vesicles within single varicosities has not been reported. We conducted an immunohistochemical study of vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2/SLC18A2) and vesicular nucleotide translocase (VNUT/SLC17A9) as markers of vesicles containing NE and ATP in sympathetic nerves of the rat tail artery. A large fraction of varicosities exhibited neighboring, rather than overlapping, VNUT and VMAT2 fluorescent puncta. VMAT2, but not VNUT, colocalized with synaptotagmin 1. Cav2.1, Cav2.2, and Cav2.3 are expressed in nerves in the tunica adventitia. VMAT2 preferentially localized adjacent to Cav2.2 and Cav2.3 rather than Cav2.1. VNUT preferentially localized adjacent to Cav2.3 > Cav2.2 >> Cav2.1. With the use of wire myography, inhibition of field-stimulated vasoconstriction with the Cav2.3 blocker SNX-482 (0.25 µM) mimicked the effects of the P2X inhibitor suramin (100 µM) rather than the α-adrenergic inhibitor phentolamine (10 µM). Variable sensitivity to SNX-482 and suramin between animals closely correlated with Cav2.3 staining. We concluded that a majority of ATP and NE stores localize to separate vesicle pools that use different synaptotagmin isoforms and that localize near different Cav2 isoforms to mediate vesicle release. Cav2.3 appears to play a previously unrecognized role in mediating ATP release in the rat tail artery. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Immunofluorescence imaging of vesicular nucleotide translocase and vesicular monoamine transporter 2 in rat tail arteries revealed that ATP and norepinephrine, classical cotransmitters, localize to well-segregated vesicle pools. Furthermore, vesicular nucleotide translocase and vesicular monoamine transporter 2 exhibit preferential localization with specific Cav2 isoforms. These novel observations address long-standing debates regarding the mechanism(s) of sympathetic neurotransmitter corelease.
Polysilicon is widely used as material for Emitter in vertical Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJT) to obtain high current gain (Beta). To optimize the electrical properties of polysilicon (Poly) ...Emitter BJTs, interface between the Emitter poly and the Base needs to be engineered carefully. This paper explains the sources and effects of interface oxide thickness variations in PNP transistors fabricated with polysilicon Emitter deposited by LPCVD furnaces. By growing a thin layer of chemical oxide at the interface prior to the deposition of polysilicon, a controllable, repeatable, and uniform layer of interface oxide is achieved, giving a stable and consistent electrical performance across all furnace boat positions.
Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid in algae with purported beneficial health-related properties including antioxidant, anti-photoaging, anti-metastasis, anti-hypertensive activity and more. These properties ...give fucoxanthin the potential to be used in cosmetic, dietary, and medicinal applications. This study evaluates the use of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) to extract fucoxanthin from the microalgae Tisochrysis lutea. Conductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) was used to screen the performance of 24 different types of DESs in the extraction of fucoxanthin based on their calculated capacities. Experimental extraction validation was then carried out using the 6 top-ranked DESs. The experimental results revealed that the extraction capacity of the thymol: dodecanoic acid DES (1.25: 1 molar ratio) for fucoxanthin was the most efficient (7.69 mg/g dry biomass weight (DW)) among the DESs explored under the screening conditions and was higher than the capacity of the conventional solvents methanol (6.29 mg/g DW) and ethanol (6.75 mg/g DW). This corresponded with COSMO-RS screening results. Then, the optimisation of extraction conditions for fucoxanthin using thymol: dodecanoic acid DES was further investigated, revealing that the highest yield of fucoxanthin (22.03 mg/g DW) was extracted at optimum experimental conditions at a temperature of 36.2 °C, stirring time of 2.58 h, and the biomass percentage of 11.36 %. Additionally, fucoxanthin showed good stability in thymol: dodecanoic acid DES over eleven days of storage. After seven extraction cycles, the final fucoxanthin concentration (13.06 mg/mL DES) resulted in a good reusability of the terpene-based food safe DES.
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•COSMO-RS screened the performance of 24 DESs for fucoxanthin extraction.•The screening results were validated experimentally for 6 top-ranked DESs.•Thymol: dodecanoic acid DES resulted in the highest fucoxanthin extraction yields.•The σ-profile and σ-potential revealed a possible fucoxanthin extraction mechanism.•Fucoxanthin extraction yields of 22.03 mg/g DW were obtained under optimal condition.
Purpose
With a shift to single-use products in interventional radiology (IR) centres for sterility and cost reasons, it is prudent to consider the burden of packaging and employ efforts to assess and ...reduce waste, as well as promote recycling wherever possible. This study aimed to quantify the amount of waste in IR packaging and what proportion is recyclable.
Materials and Methods
A range of IR products were weighed using mass scales. Products were assessed for total weight, overall waste, and potentially recyclable waste. Waste was defined as any packaging which was not considered vital to the product to perform its duty and thus was for packaging or shipping purposes. Products were pooled into one of the following categories: catheters and sheaths, wires, needles, devices, coils, and packs/ancillary.
Results
Seventy-two different products were collected from 26 manufacturers to represent a range of items. The weight of all products was 12,466 g (median 51, range 2–1600), and weight of waste was 6830.7 g (median 34, range 1.1–732). The weight of recyclable waste was 5202.2 g (median 11.5, range 0–701). There were median 2 waste packages per item (range 1–5). The proportion of waste of the overall weight was 54.8% and of this, 76% of all waste was potentially recyclable.
Conclusion
There is a significant burden of waste in manufactured IR products, and while a high proportion is recyclable, we encourage manufacturers of IR products and devices to consider alternative means of transport and packaging of products which will reduce the overall waste burden.
Level of Evidence
Level 3.
Chinese Herbal Medicine has been mainstream practice for hundreds of generations, however the merits of herbal therapeutics have been debated in the era of modern medicine. With a shift towards ...scientific analysis and rigorous testing of conventional pharmaceuticals in the past century, critics have questioned the proclaimed effects of herbal concoctions. Nonetheless, herbal medicines are still used frequently and have spawned clinical studies meant to determine their therapeutic efficacy. This paper aims to evaluate many aspects of Chinese Herbal Medicine applications that have already been analyzed in other papers, then propose a study which explores the effects of the herbal concoction Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Pian in lowering blood pressure. Hypertension was chosen as the focus of the study due to its extensive presence in the population and the impact a significant outcome can provide given its prevalence. The ultimate goal is to find a balance between both eastern and western practices of medicine, thus preserving Chinese medical traditions that are concurrently buttressed by scientific research.
Defects on wafers have always been a major concern in wafer fabrication processing. Most defect optimization activities centered around improving wafer front side defects by having more-clean steps, ...process chamber controls, process recipe improvements etc. However, there is minimum focus and attention on wafer edge bevel defects due to the lack of suitable equipment and detection methods and lack of skills and knowledge about their origin and effects. These defects can impact yield performance, cause wafer scrap, and even impact equipment uptime and higher costs due to machine faults and reworks. Often a series of cleaning and defect scanning equipment is needed that can easily cause a day or two days loss of cycle time. In this paper, we focus on how the defects are transported to the wafer frontside from the wafer's edge bevel and a provide a new understanding on how to reduce wafer edge defects from the wafer bevel by focusing on the process steps that cause defect formation.
Quality of life in sinonasal tumors: an up-to-date review Chow, Vanessa Jane; Tsetsos, Nikolaos; Poutoglidis, Alexandros ...
Current opinion in otolaryngology & head and neck surgery,
2022-Feb-01, Volume:
30, Issue:
1
Journal Article
To assess the impact of benign and malignant sinonasal tumors and their management on patients' Quality of Life (QOL) as measured by Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS).
Although there is a ...growing consensus that endoscopic surgical management in carefully selected patients with sinonasal tumors is at least as (and probably more) effective than open resection, it is not clear to what extent this translates to better QOL outcomes. Earlier studies reported better outcomes in the emotional and physical function domains after endoscopic resection, and it seems that postsurgical morbidity is less in endoscopic compared to open approaches. QoL after endoscopic surgery for sinonasal and anterior skull base tumors seems to improve within several months of surgery in both benign and malignant tumor groups. However, patients with benign sinonasal tumors have a higher QOL pre and post operatively compared to those with malignancy mainly due to absence of (neo) - adjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Factors that seem to be associated with worse QoL include > 60 years, less than 6 months from surgery, prior and adjuvant chemo and radiotherapy, smoking history, advanced staging and malignancy.
There is not a universally accepted PROM for use in patients with sinonasal benign and malignant tumors: A variety of different PROMs have been used with different degrees of effectiveness. Most likely a combination of disease-specific (such as SNOT 22 and anterior skull base questionnaire) and generic (such as Short Form health survey questionnaire (SF-36) and Karnofsky Performance Status) health outcome measures provide the most insight into QOL of patients with sinonasal tumors. QOL of these patients appears to undergo a bimodal impact with patients experiencing an initial dip in QOL after surgical treatment followed by a slow improvement over time. However, while patients with benign tumors' return to their status quo ante QOL, this is not the case for patients with malignant tumors who stabilize at a lower than initially QOL. To a large extent this seems to be the effect of (neo) adjuvant chemo radiotherapy.
A unique failure pattern caused by resist chemistry interaction with wafer layout and topology is shown in this paper. The turbulence created in the resist due to the presence of wafer topologies ...during resist coating could cause defects that is extremely challenging to detect. This failure is resist chemistry dependent and change of resist is needed to eliminate the failure. Learning from this paper can be applied to carry out resist-layout-topology interaction and margin checks during new process development, new product introductions and fab process changes.
Abstract Objectives Post‐cardiac and aortic surgery stroke is often underreported. We detail our single‐centre experience the following introduction of comprehensive consultant‐led daily stroke ...service, to demonstrate the efficacy of a stroke team in recovery from stroke following cardiac and aortic surgeries. Methods This retrospective, single‐centre observational cohort study analysed consecutive patients undergoing cardiac and aortic surgery at our institution from August 2014 to December 2020. Main outcomes included stroke rate, predictors of stroke, and neurological deficit resolution or persistence at discharge and clinic follow‐up. Results A total of 12,135 procedures were carried out in the reference period. Among these, 436 (3.6%) suffered a stroke. Overall survival to discharge and follow‐up were 86.0% and 84.0% respectively. Independent risk factors for post‐operative stroke included advanced age (OR 1.033, 95% CI 1.023, 1.044, p < .001), female sex (OR 1.491, 95% 1.212, 1.827, p < .001), history of previous cardiac surgeries (OR 1.670, 95% CI 1.239, 2.218, p < .001), simultaneous coronary artery bypass graft + valve procedures (OR 1.825, 95% CI 1.382, 2.382, p < .001) and CPB time longer than 240 min (OR 3.384, 95% CI 2.413, 4.705, p < .001). Stroke patients managed by the multidisciplinary team demonstrated significantly higher rates of survival at discharge (87.3% vs. 61.9%, p = .001). Conclusions Perioperative stroke can be debilitating immediately long term. The involvement of specialist stroke teams plays a key role in reducing the long‐term burden and mortality of this condition.
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