Study on critical dimension of printable phase defects using an EUV microscope

We constructed an extreme ultraviolet microscopy (EUVM) system for actinic mask inspection that consists of Schwarzschild optics and an X-ray zooming tube. This system was used to inspect finished extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) masks and Mo/Si glass substrates. A clear EUVM image of a 300-nm-wide pattern on a 6025 glass mask was obtained. The resolution was estimated to be 50 nm or less from this pattern. Programmed phase defects on the glass substrate were also used for inspection. The EUV microscope was able to resolve a programmed pit defect with a width of 40 nm and a depth of 10 nm and also one with a width of 70 nm and a depth of 2 nm. However, a 75-nm-wide 1.5-nm-deep pit defect was not resolved. Thus, in this study, one critical dimension of a pit defect was estimated to be a depth of 2 nm.     

Occurrence of multiple ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate-reducing enzymes in Candida magnoliae

Multiple ethyl 4-chloro-3-oxobutanoate (COBE)-reducing enzymes were isolated from a cell-free extract of Candida magnoliae. A NADPH-dependent COBE-reducing enzyme, distinct from the carbonyl reductase and aldehyde reductase previously reported, was purified to homogeneity using five steps, including polyethylene glycol treatment. The relative molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated to be 86,000 on high performance gel-permeation chromatography and 29,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme catalyzed the reduction of COBE to the corresponding (S)-alcohol with a 51% enantiomeric excess. The substrate specificity of the enzyme was different from those of the other COBE-reducing enzymes of the same strain. The partial amino acid sequences of the enzyme showed that it belongs to the short chain alcohol dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family. This is the first report of multiple COBE-reducing enzymes with various stereoselectivities occurring in the same strain but belonging to different (super)families.     

Atmospheric outflow of anthropogenic semivolatile organic compounds from East Asia in spring 2004

To estimate the emissions of anthropogenic semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) from East Asia and to identify unique SOC molecular markers in Asian air masses, high-volume air samples were collected on the island of Okinawa, Japan between 22 March and 2 May 2004. Contributions from different source regions (China, Japan, the Koreas, Russia, and ocean/local) were estimated by use of source region impact factors (SRIFs). Elevated concentrations of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorcyclohexanes (HCHs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), and particulate-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were attributed to air masses from China. A large proportion of the variation in the current-use pesticides, gas-phase PAHs, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations was explained by meteorology. Chlordanes showed a technical mixture profile and similar concentrations regardless of source region. alpha/gamma HCH and trans/cis chlordane ratios did not vary significantly with different source regions and had regional averages of 2.5 +/- 1.0 and 1.2 +/- 0.3, respectively. Particulate-phase PAH concentrations were significantly correlated (p value < 0.05) with other incomplete combustion byproduct concentrations, including elemental mercury (Hg0), CO, NOx, black carbon, submicrometer aerosols, and SO2. By use of measured PAH, CO, and black carbon concentrations and estimated CO and black carbon emission inventories, the emission of six carcinogenic particulate-phase PAHs was estimated to be 1518-4179 metric tons/year for Asia and 778-1728 metric tons/year for China, respectively. These results confirm that East Asian outflow contains significant emissions of carcinogenic particulate-phase PAHs.     

Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in Bangkok Urban Air: Part II. Level and Distribution

The gas-particle partitioning and particle size distributions of airborne PAH in Bangkok urban air were investigated using an 8 stage size fractionating cascade impactor (Andersen “low volume” sampler) and a downstream XAD-2 adsorbent tube for sample collection. Nine PAH classified as carcinogenic and co-carcinogenic compounds-Pyrene (PYR), Benz(a)Anthracene (BaA), Benzo(e)Pyrene (BeP), Dibenz(a,c)Anthracene (DBacA), Benzo(k)Fluoranthene (BkF), Benzo(a)Pyrene (BaP), Dibenz(a,h)Anthracene (DBahA), Benzo(ghi)Perylene (BghiP) and Trimethylcholanthrene (3MC) - were quantified. The lower molecular weight (MW) PAH such as PYR, BeP and BaA were present mainly in the gaseous phase (80%, 40% and 24%, respectively) while higher MW compounds were present almost totally in the particulate fraction. The results show that 30%–60% of each PAH by mass were found on particles smaller than 0.43 μm and more than 70% on particles with diameter less than 2.1 μm. In addition, the relationship between the particle/gas partition coefficient (K _p ) and the sub-cooled liquid vapor pressure (p°_L) was also determined to describe the gas-particle partitioning of those PAH compounds in a tropical atmosphere.     

Properties of phospholipase A1/transacylase in the white muscle of bonito Euthynnus pelamis (Linnaeus)

The properties of phospholipase A1 (PLA1) obtained from the white muscle of bonito, Euthynnus pelamis (Linnaeus), were examined. The PLA1 activity had a pH optimum from 6.5 to 7.0 for phosphatidylcholine (PC), and calcium ion was not required. The optimum temperature was from 20 to 30 degrees C. When a fatty alcohol was used as an acceptor, a wax ester was produced by transferring a fatty acid at the sn-1 position of the donor's PC. The maximum production of lysophosphatidylcholine was shifted by 0.5 pH units to the acidic side and the pH optimum of wax ester synthesis was from 6.0 to 6.5. The synthesis was independent of calcium ion and Coenzyme A. The transacylation was also observed when 1-lyso-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine was used as an acceptor. Fatty acid at the sn-1 position of the donor PC was transferred to the unoccupied hydroxy group of the acceptor at the sn-1 position. When 2,3-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-1-phosphocholine was used as the acyl donor, a similar amount of palmitic acid was transferred as in the case of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. However, 1-acyl-2-lyso-sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine, a positional isomer, was a poor acceptor. These results indicate that the transacylation by the PLA1 from bonito muscle is not stereospecific, but is position-specific both for the acyl donor and acceptor.     

Transmission electron microscopy study of GdBa2Cu3O7−x containing nano-sized BaMO3 (M: Hf, Zr, Sn) rods fabricated by pulsed laser deposition

Three types of superconducting GdBa₂Cu₃O_7?x (GdBCO) layers containing rods of either BaHfO₃ (BHO), BaZrO₃ (BZO), or BaSnO₃ (BSO) were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on Hastelloy substrates with a CeO₂ based textured buffer layer. The critical currents (J _c) values of the GdBCO layers containing those nano-rods are enhanced compared with those of pristine GdBCO layer in high magnetic fields. In order to investigate the relationships between their superconductive properties and their nanostructures, they were characterized in detail by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM is the only method for direct observation of these nano-rods in the GdBCO grains. The GdBCO layers were mainly composed of c-axis oriented GdBCO grains containing numerous nano-sized rods. The crystal orientation relationships between the GdBCO and the nano-rods were as follows; (001)GdBCO//(001)nano-rods and (100)GdBCO//(100) nano-rods. The average diameters of the BHO and the BZO nano-rods were 4.5 and 5.6 nm, respectively. The BSO nano-rods were thicker than other rods. These nano-rods in the central region of the c-axis oriented GdBCO grains were aligned parallel to the c-axis of the GdBCO, while nano-rods in the outer region of the c-axis oriented grains were tilted away from the c-axis. With increase in the thickness of the GdBCO layers, the ratio of the BZO or the BSO nano-rods aligned parallel to the c-axis to those tilted away from the c-axis decreased, so that the J _c-B-θ profiles of the thicker GdBCO layers containing the BZO or the BSO nano-rods became flatter. The BHO nano-rods were homogeneously distributed throughout the GdBCO, and their average length of was less than that of the other nano-rods. The homogeneous distribution and short length of the BHO nano-rods enhanced the J _c values of the GdBCO layers containing them in high magnetic fields. The J _c-B-θ profiles of the GdBCO layers containing the BHO were independent of the layer thickness. From these results, we will discuss about the morphologies and distributions of suitable vortex pinning for applications of GdBCO coated conductor in high magnetic fields.     

Myxoid leiomyosarcoma of the esophagus

Between July 1990 and December 1995, 111 new consecutive pediatric patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) have been treated in our institution. Eleven of them (9.9%) had Down's syndrome (DS), 6 boys and 5 girls. The median age was 22.5 (range 10-40) months. FAB subtypes were the following: M7: 6, M4: 3, and M0: 2. Five of them had previously had myelodysplasia and in 3, all FAB M7, myelofibrosis was detected. This population was treated with two consecutive protocols. Nine patients were included in the AML-HPG-90 protocol and 2 patients in the AML-HPG-95 study, respectively. However, all DS patients in this series received the same treatment. Eight patients achieved complete remission: two patients received two cycles of intensification with high dose (HD) ara-C, and 1 patient, only one cycle; the other 5 were prevented from receiving such therapy because of unacceptable toxicity or death. At 45 months, event-free survival and overall survival estimates were 0.30, S.E. 0.16. Mortality was remarkably high. All deaths (7) were associated with sepsis (5) or pulmonary infection (2). Three deaths occurred before achieving complete remission, 3 patients died during the consolidation phase and 1 died whilst off treatment. No one presented leukemic relapse. We conclude that this AML-BFM treatment strategy is highly toxic to children with DS and AML in our setting. Efforts will be made to improve clinical support and to administer less intensive therapy to this particular pediatric AML subgroup, which, in fact, has a better prognosis than the same non-trisomic population.