Epitope analysis of staphylococcal enterotoxin A using different synthetic peptides

The antigenic determinants (or epitopes) of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) were analyzed using synthetic peptides and rabbit antibodies to their corresponding peptides. Of 12 different synthetic peptides tested, peptides A-1 (corresponding to the amino acid sequence 1-20), A-5 (81-100), and A-8 (141-160) were reactive with anti-SEA antibodies. However, all synthetic peptides were found to elicit antibodies reactive with native SEA molecule. These findings suggest that native SEA molecule contains at least 3 different antigenic determinants.     

Evaluation of methane oxidation in rice plant-soil system

Mechanisms of methane oxidation in the plant-soil system of rice were studied in a pot experiment using two cultivars (PSBRc-30 and IR72) at two growth stages (flowering and heading). Methane emission was measured by chambers, while methane oxidation was determined through propylene amendment as an alternative substrate to be propylene oxide (PPO) and acetylene as an inhibitor for methane oxidizing (methanotrophic) bacteria. Cell numbers (methanotrophic and methanogenic bacteria) were determined by the most probable number method. The cultivar PSBRc-30 consistently showed higher methane emission rates than IR72. Methane flux clearly decreased from flowering to heading stages in both cultivars. This observation was largely reflected by trends in the mechanisms involved: either methanogenic cell numbers or activities decreased with plant age while methanotrophic cell numbers or activities generally showed an increasing trend. The methanogenic population was in the order of 10⁵ g^–1 dry soil, while the population of methanotrophs ranged from 10⁴ to nearly 10⁶ g^–1 dry soil. Methanotrophic activity followed the order; root (1.7–2.8 nL PPO g^–1 DM h^–1) > shoot (0.7–2.0) > soil (0–0.4) when the consumption of alternative substrate was related to dry matter. Derived from the estimated amounts of soil and plant biomass in the pot experiment, however, the soil generally accounted for more than 90% of the total methane oxidation. Within the plant segments, methane oxidation activities in the root exceeded those of the shoot by factor of approximately 10.     

Segmentation and characterization of interscapular brown adipose tissue in rats by multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging

Objective

The aim was to auto-segment and characterize brown adipose, white adipose and muscle tissues in rats by multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging with validation by histology and UCP1.

Materials and methods

Male Wistar rats were randomized into two groups for thermoneutral (n = 8) and cold exposure (n = 8) interventions, and quantitative MRI was performed longitudinally at 7 and 11 weeks. Prior to imaging, rats were maintained at either thermoneutral body temperature (36 ± 0.5 °C), or short term cold exposure (26 ± 0.5 °C). Neural network based automatic segmentation was performed on multi-parametric images including fat fraction, T ₂ and T ₂* maps. Isolated tissues were subjected to histology and UCP1 analysis.

Results

Multi-parametric approach showed precise delineation of the interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT), white adipose tissue (WAT) and muscle regions. Neural network based segmentation results were compared with manually drawn regions of interest, and showed 96.6 and 97.1 % accuracy for WAT and BAT respectively. Longitudinal assessment of the iBAT volumes showed a reduction at 11 weeks of age compared to 7 weeks. The cold exposed group showed increased iBAT volume compared to thermoneutral group at both 7 and 11 weeks. Histology and UCP1 expression analysis supported our imaging results.

Conclusion

Multi-parametric MR based neural network auto-segmentation provides accurate separation of BAT, WAT and muscle tissues in the interscapular region. The cold exposure improves the classification and quantification of heterogeneous BAT.

     

Selection of rare earth silicates for highly scaled gate dielectrics

An aggressive equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) scaling with high-k gate dielectrics has been demonstrated by ultra-thin La₂O₃ gate dielectric with a proper selection of rare earth (La-, Ce- and Pr-) silicates as an interfacial layer. Among silicates, Ce-silicate has shown the lowest interface-state density as low as 10¹¹ cmv⁻²/eV with a high dielectric constant over 20. n-Type field-effect transistor (FET) with a small EOT of 0.51 nm has been successfully fabricated with a La₂O₃ gate dielectric on a Ce-silicate interfacial layer after annealing at 500 °C. Negative shift in threshold voltage and reduced effective electron mobility has indicated the presence of fixed charges in the dielectric. Nonetheless, the high dielectric constant and nice interfacial property of Ce-silicate can be advantageous for the interfacial layer in highly scaled gate dielectrics.     

Enhanced substrate current in SOI MOSFETs

This letter reports an enhanced substrate current at high gate bias in SOI MOSFETs. A comparison between coprocessed bulk and partially depleted SOI MOSFETs is used to present the enhancement unique to SOI devices and demonstrate the underlying mechanism. Other than electric field, a new source for carrier heating in the channel, i.e., self-lattice heating, is found to be responsible for the excess substrate current observed. The impact of this phenomenon on SOI device lifetime prediction and compact modeling under dynamic operating conditions typical of digital circuit operation is described. This SOI-specific enhancement must be considered in one-to-one comparisons between bulk and SOI MOSFETs regarding hot-carrier effects     

Dynamic threshold pass-transistor logic for improved delay at lowerpower supply voltages

We have investigated circuit options to surpass the 1 V power-supply limitation predicted by traditional scaling guidelines. By modulating the body bias, we can dynamically adjust the threshold voltage to have different on- and off-state values. Several dynamic threshold voltage MOSFET (DTMOS) logic styles were analyzed for ultralow-power use-from 1.5 down to 0.5 V. Since ordinary pass-transistor logic degrades as the voltages are reduced, we investigated the effects that a dynamic threshold has on various styles of pass-transistor logic. Three different pass-transistor restoration schemes were simulated with the various DTMOS techniques. Results indicate that controlling the body bias can provide a substantial speed increase and that such techniques are useful over a large range of supply voltages. Process complexity and other tradeoffs associated with DTMOS logic variations are also discussed     

Multiple Sb ion implantation for deep-submicron pMOS channel doping

We propose a channel doping technology for pMOSFET's in which Sb is multiply ion implanted to produce a uniform doping profile in the region deeper than the minimum projected range of the multiple ion implantation. We derive a threshold voltage model and show how to realize this uniform doping profile, which is verified with experimental data. We study the short-channel effect of this device using a two-dimensional (2-D) device simulator, and show that this transistor can readily operate with a gate length of down to 0.1 μm     

Measurements and analysis of neutron-reaction-induced charges in asilicon surface region

We directly measured neutron-reaction-induced charges in the silicon surface region using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) test structures. Because the neutron beam used has an energy spectrum similar to that of sea-level atmospheric neutrons, our charge collection data correspond to those induced by cosmic ray neutrons. Measured charge collection spectra were dependent on the SOI thickness and agreed with simulated results. An application for the neutron-induced upset rate prediction was also discussed. Furthermore, the charge collection components were separated by our charge collection simulator     

Counter doping into uniformly and heavily doped channel region ofsub-0.1 μm SOI MOSFETs

We proposed counter doping into a heavily and uniformly doped channel region of SOI MOSFETs. This enabled us to suppress the short channel effects with proper threshold voltage V_th and to eliminate parasitic edge or back gate transistors. We derived a model for V_th as a function of the projected range, Rp and dose, Φ_D, of the counter doping, and showed that V_th is invariable even when the as-implanted counter doping profile redistributes. Using this technology, we demonstrated a V_th roll-off free 0.075 μm-L_Geff nMOSFET with low off-state current