Identification and analysis of genes from Streptomyces pristinaespiralis encoding enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of the 4-dimethylamino-L-phenylalanine precursor of pristinamycin I

Dextran has been used as a carrier molecule for the synthesis of monofunctional peptide-dextran conjugates. The immunodetection of such carrier immobilized peptides on ELISA plates was compared to that of peptides adsorbed directly to immunoplates. The main features observed with peptide-dextran conjugates were as follows: only small amounts of peptide (1-2 mg) were necessary for coupling via alpha- or epsilon-amino groups to NaIO4-activated dextran (4 mg); the coupling yield was up to 68%; an amino acid analysis of the conjugate enabled the amount of carrier immobilized peptide to be calculated; an estimated 15-17 peptides were bound per dextran molecule (MW 73,500); using a carbohydrate as carrier reduces the possibility of non-specific interactions because no hydrophobic or ionic sites and no protein-like epitopes exist on the carrier apart from the peptide ligand. It can be assumed that some peptide ligands provide the forces for an interaction with the plate surface whereas other remain free for the interaction with the antibody. Thus, the detection with monoclonal anti-peptide antibodies allowed peptide-dextran conjugates to be used at coating concentrations of 1-3 nM peptide, corresponding to 0.6-2.6 ng peptide-dextran per well. In contrast, concentrations of 150-500 nM were required for coating with peptides. The applicability of monofunctional peptide-dextran conjugates was demonstrated by investigating the titer and specificity of a polyclonal anti-peptide serum developed against human gastrointestinal glutathione peroxidase. The introduction of biotin as a second ligand of the dextran conjugate permitted its capture on streptavidin coated plates. This synthesis of bifunctional peptide-biotin-dextran conjugates opens up additional possibilities for applications.     

Process-based cost modeling of photonics manufacture: the cost competitiveness of monolithic integration of a 1550-nm DFB laser and an electroabsorptive modulator on an InP platform

The monolithic integration of components holds promise to increase network functionality and reduce packaging expense. Integration also drives down yield due to manufacturing complexity and the compounding of failures across devices. Consensus is lacking on the economically preferred extent of integration. Previous studies on the cost feasibility of integration have used high-level estimation methods. This study instead focuses on accurate-to-industry detail, basing a process-based cost model of device manufacture on data collected from 20 firms across the optoelectronics supply chain. The model presented allows for the definition of process organization, including testing, as well as processing conditions, operational characteristics, and level of automation at each step. This study focuses on the cost implications of integration of a 1550-nm DFB laser with an electroabsorptive modulator on an InP platform. Results show the monolithically integrated design to be more cost competitive over discrete component options regardless of production scale. Dominant cost drivers are packaging, testing, and assembly. Leveraging the technical detail underlying model projections, component alignment, bonding, and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are identified as processes where technical improvements are most critical to lowering costs. Such results should encourage exploration of the cost advantages of further integration and focus cost-driven technology development.     

Development of heat-and impact-resistant coatings for main pipelines

We have developed composite layered temperature-resistant silicon-organic sandwich-type coatings with thin polyurethane silicon-organic interlayers. We used the following materials as binding components: KO 921 silicon-organic lacquer with addition of éD-20 epoxy resin for prime coat, the same lacquer with addition of PZ 1040 S polyurethane elastomer for thin soft interlayers, and only KO 921 lacquer for thick hard layers. The mineral filler represented a mixture of coal ash and omiacarb in proportion 70 / 30 mass %. We have manufactured and tested laboratory specimens with two hard layers and two interlayers as well as with three hard layers and two thin interlayers. We have established that the developed composite layered coatings exceed, in their basic characteristics, the requirements of the State Standard Committee of Ukraine and foreign normative documents for the rust protection of steel main pipelines. Our coatings possess high impact strength, heightened elasticity and adhesion strength and, as to their electrical insulating characteristics, exceed these requirements by an order of magnitude. We note the complexity of the technology of applying layered composite coatings and the necessity of its improvement. __________ Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 59–65, July–August, 2006.     

Surface leakage currents in SiN/sub x/ passivated AlGaN/GaN HFETs

A novel guarded surface leakage test structure is used to isolate the surface and bulk leakage contributions to gate current in AlGaN/GaN HFETs. Passivation with various recipes of SiN/sub x/ always resulted in the commonly observed increase in gate leakage, which was found to be dominated by bulk leakage through the AlGaN. However, high temperature deposited SiN/sub x/ recipes gave a 1-2 orders reduction in surface leakage, whereas low temperature deposition gave an increase. Gate lag measurements were found to correlate closely with the surface leakage component, giving direct evidence that the key device problem of current slump is associated with current flow at the AlGaN surface.     

Ermüdungsverhalten und Dauerfestigkeit von Graphit und Aluminium – infiltriertem Graphit

Fatigue behaviour and endurance limit of graphite and of aluminium‐infiltrated graphite Fatigue properties of polycrystalline, isotropic graphite FU2590 and of FU2590 infiltrated with AlSi7Mg (FU2590/AlSi7Mg) were investigated in reversed bending tests at 25 Hz at numbers of cycles below 10⁷ and in tension‐compression tests at 20 kHz below 10⁹ cycles. The open porosity of Graphite (10‐11 Vol.‐%) was infiltrated with the aluminium alloy using the squeeze casting infiltration method, which led to an increase of the bending strength by 50 %, increase of tensile strength by 30 % and increase of stiffness by 15 %. Fully reversed tension‐compression loading of FU2590 delivers a mean endurance limit at 10⁹ cycles at the normalized maximum stresses (i.e. maximum tension stress of a cycle divided by the static strength) of 0,65±0,03. Mean numbers of cycles to failure of 10⁴ were found in fully reversed bending tests at the normalized maximum stress of 0,78. The infiltrated material shows approximately 30 % higher cyclic strength in reversed bending tests, and the mean endurance limit under tension compression loading increases by 15 %. The increased endurance limit of the infiltrated material is caused by the increased stiffness. The increased toughness of graphite due to the infiltration with aluminium is of additional beneficial influence at the higher cyclic stresses investigated in reversed bending tests and in static tests.     

Characterization and comparison of PECVD silicon nitride and silicon oxynitride dielectric for MIM capacitors

In this letter, we report on the electrical characteristic and the comparison of the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors with PECVD silicon nitride (SiN) and silicon oxynitride (SiON). Both capacitors are found to exhibit low leakage and high breakdown field strength, as well as absence of dispersive behavior, good linearity, and comparable quality factor behaviors.     

Mechanical stress control in a VLSI-fabrication process: a method for obtaining the relation between stress levels and stress-induced failures

An ideal fabrication process is designed to minimize mechanical stress in semiconductor devices and to improve device reliability. Mechanical stress levels were predicted by in-house simulations supported by a thin-film database. These stress levels were correlated with stress-induced defects by TEM analysis supported by fail bit addressing on matured megabit SRAMs. Amorphous-doped silicon film with various annealing temperatures were used for the gate electrode to change the mechanical stress in devices and to get the direct relationship between predicted stress levels and stress related defects. The authors describe brief guidelines for suppressing dislocations in the small geometry shallow-trench isolation process utilizing this system. Polysilicon thickness in the W-polycide gate electrode is designed to minimize mechanical stress in the gate oxide and to suppress the gate oxide failure in probe and class tests. Moreover, critical stress generates dislocations during post source/drain ion implantation anneal obtained by a ball indentation method. This indicated that lower temperature anneal is effective in suppressing the dislocations. A two-step anneal was introduced to suppress dislocations and to enable higher ion activation.     

Creating advanced functions on network processors: experience and perspectives

In this article we present five case studies of advanced networking functions that detail how a network processor (NP) can provide high performance and also the necessary flexibility compared with ASIC. We first review the basic NP system architectures, and describe the IBM PowerNP architecture from the data plane as well as the control plane point of view. We introduce models for the programmer's views of NP that facilitate a global understanding of NP software programming. Then, for each case study, we present results from prototypes as well as general considerations that apply to a wider range of system architectures. Specifically, we investigate the suitability of NP for QoS (active queue management and traffic engineering), header processing (GPRS tunneling protocol), intelligent forwarding (load balancing without flow disruption), payload processing (code interpretation and just-in-time compilation in active networks), and protocol stack termination (SCTP). Finally, we summarize the key features as revealed by each case study, and conclude with remarks on the future of NP.