Effects of nitric oxide annealing of thermally grown silicondioxide characteristics

The effects of nitric oxide (NO) annealing on conventional thermal oxides are reported in this letter. The oxide thickness increase, resulting from NO annealing, is found to be only a few angstroms (<0.5 nm) and independent on the initial oxide thickness. Furthermore, both the electrical and physical characteristics are improved. This technique is expected to achieve sub-5 nm high quality ultrathin dielectric films for the applications in EEPROM's and ULSI     

Activated protein C resistance, thrombophilia, and inflammatory bowel disease

Thromboembolic events frequently complicate the clinical course of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Hereditary thrombophilia may contribute to this tendency. Resistance to activated protein C is the most recently described thrombophilic state and may account for up to 40% of patients with thrombophilia. Thirty-seven patients with IBD were studied (mean age 44 years, range 18-82 years). Three patients had a history of thrombotic episodes. The 37 controls included 23 men and 17 women (mean age 48 years, range 16-89 years). Disease activity was assessed using the Harvey Bradshaw index for patients with Crohn's disease and the Truelove and Witts grading system for patients with ulcerative colitis. Levels of fibrinogen, antithrombin III (ATIII), protein C, protein S, activated protein C resistance (APCR), and the presence of a lupus anticoagulant (LA) were determined. Median ATIII levels in patients with IBD were significantly lower than controls (98% vs 106%, P = 0.007), while fibrinogen was elevated (4.2 vs 3.3 g/liter, P = 0.026) despite quiescent disease activity. LA was detected in 7/37 patients in the IBD group compared to 0/37 controls. (chi2 = 5.68, P = 0.017). No significant difference was observed in levels of inherited thrombophilic factors and in particular APCR between IBD patients and controls. In conclusion, the presence of inherited thrombophilic defects, in particular APCR, is uncommon in patients with IBD and does not merit routine screening.     

Broiler industry strategies for control of respiratory and enteric diseases

The commercial broiler industry is a modern day agricultural success due to popular consumer demand, healthy flocks, and least cost production. Preventive medicine is the key for economical control of disease in integrated broiler companies, and includes quarantine-eradication, controlled-exposure, and preventive feed medication. Respiratory and enteric diseases present a continuing, potential threat for economic loss. Most exotic and egg-transmitted poultry diseases have been controlled by reduction or eradication policies. Endemic diseases are controlled by mass vaccination and preventive feed medication. Improvements in genetics, housing, equipment, and disease surveillance has allowed continued improvements in disease prevention. Attention to detail and management of risk is crucial to industry success. With fast industry growth and market maturity of the broiler industry, new challenges have risen. These challenges include increased poultry house density, increasing economic pressures, changing industry attitudes, and increased governmental regulations that will strain the continued success of today's control strategies.     

Research bronchoscopies do not adversely affect HIV-infected individuals' future health-care decisions

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals are increasingly recruited for studies involving invasive procedures such as bronchoscopy. We sought to determine the response to and outcome of a request for a research bronchoscopy in HIV-positive individuals with no respiratory disease, and whether this would adversely affect future decisions to have a medically indicated bronchoscopy. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective, semistructured, questionnaire-based study in a London teaching hospital HIV outpatient clinic. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and seven consecutive HIV-infected eligible individuals. Thirty-one healthy volunteers served as a control group for the subjective response to bronchoscopy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjects' attitudes and responses to requests for bronchoscopy and subsequent behavior when they required medically indicated bronchoscopy. RESULTS: Seventy-five patients (70%) agreed to the procedure in principle, predominantly for altruistic reasons. Thirty-nine subjects underwent bronchoscopy. Five percent found it worse than expected; and 79% agreed to another research bronchoscopy (performed in 11 subjects approximately 2 years later). All patients said they would undergo bronchoscopy again for diagnostic purposes (required in seven during the study). When compared to a healthy volunteer population within the same study, postbronchoscopy symptoms were similar in frequency although somewhat different in nature. Subjects felt that a clear explanation of what was involved enhanced their participation in this research. CONCLUSIONS: Invasive research procedures such as bronchoscopy can be performed and are repeatable in a healthy HIV-infected population. Performance of procedures for research purposes does not appear to adversely affect future health-care decisions.     

信息管理系统中的工作流技术研究与设计

介绍了工作流的应用背景,分析了某校教务系统中采用的工作流技术的原理和设计思想。提出可编辑、管理和监控的工作流模型,并重点介绍了工作流程运行机制。工作流技术使单位内部业务流程自动化,信息流转逐步实现无纸化。利用其图形化定义流程的功能,在办公流程越来越严谨的前提下,办公效率也大幅提高。某校在教务系统中运用了工作流技术,取得了良好的效果。     

直流分布供电系统稳定性的分析与仿真

研究供电系统稳定性优化问题,针对直流分布供电系统中单独设计的功率模块级联后引起整个系统不稳定。由于系统连接,造成系统稳定性下降。为解决上述问题,提出了一种通过测量直流分布供电系统的稳定余度来判断系统稳定性的方法。在分析传统的判定稳定性方法缺点的基础上,根据Middlebrook判据,提出了禁止区域的概念,并进一步简化,推导出测量稳定余度的方法来判断级联系统的稳定性,并在SABER环境下对BOOST供电系统功率因数校正电路的稳定性。实验结果表明,方法能较为简便的判断直流分布供电系统的稳定性,同时对于其它供电系统的稳定性分析均有较好的参考价值。