A wafer level monitoring method for plasma-charging damage usingantenna PMOSFET test structure

A novel monitoring method for plasma-charging damage is proposed. This method performs a quick and accurate evaluation using antenna PMOSFET. It was found that not only hot-carrier (HC) lifetime but transistor parameters such as initial gate current and substrate current were changed according to the degree of plasma-charging damage. However, the present work suggests that monitoring the shift of drain current after a few seconds of HC stress is a more accurate method to indicate plasma-charging damage. The monitoring method using the present test structure is demonstrated to be useful for realizing highly reliable devices     

A phenomenological model for giant magnetoresistance hysteresis inmagnetic discontinuous multilayer films

A simple phenomenological model for giant magnetoresistance (GMR) is employed for current and field parallel (CIP) to the magnetic multilayer planes in ordinary and discontinuous multilayer films. To our knowledge, it is the first model to include hysteresis in the field (H) dependence of the GMR. The computed GMR versus H curves qualitatively reproduce the GMR hysteresis seen experimentally. In particular, two GMR peaks are found to be symmetrically placed about H=0, and the GMR hysteresis curve itself is found to have an inverted butterfly shape. Also seen in the computed results is the general increase in GMR magnitude found for annealed discontinuous multilayer films. Various parameter variations are examined in the computed results. While the model reproduces GMR hysteresis quite well and the general increase in GMR for discontinuous multilayer films, it does not, in its present form, account for the oscillations seen in the GMR when the nonmagnetic layer thicknesses are varied, which is expected as a strictly quantum mechanical result     

Water sorption of glycol-modified cross-linked gelatin-based hydrogels

The water sorption behaviour of several cross-linked gelatin-based systems were investigated and compared. The systems were gelatin, gelatin/ethyleneglycol, gelatin/polyoxypropylenediamine, and gelatin/polyethylene oxide. For all the systems, an increased water gain was obtained by raising the concentration of the second component, while the swelling was reduced by an increase of the cross-linking density. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Determinants of national media attention

This study employed two perspectives to investigate media attention given women congressional candidates. The first perspective is that media attention may be explained by typical and normal media processes, such as focusing on incumbents. The second perspective considers a partisan explanation in which media attention is weighted more to Democratic candidates than Republican candidates. This study employs two established sources, Vanderbilt's Television News Index and Abstract and Information Access's National Newspaper Index , to examine the national media attention of Democratic and Republican women congressional candidates in 1990 and 1992. The investigation determined that media attention is related to whether the candidates are running for the Senate or House, incumbency, and state population. The results also reveal that party is a statistically significant factor associated with media attention. The investigation also determined that ethnic candidates tend to receive slightly less attention from the print media than nonethnic candidates.     

Use of a two-wire microwave line at the boundary of the investigated zone to measure the electron density in a low-temperature plasma

A new method based on a two-wire line has been developed for noncontact diagnostics of a low-temperature plasma and its fluxes in channels with complex profiles. This method provides good spatial and time resolution. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 23, 1–7 (July 26, 1997)     

Perineurioma: an unusual cause of an external auditory canal polyp

BACKGROUND: Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is used to treat intestinal failure. A minority of HPN patients are dependent on opiates and benzodiazepines to control pain and anxiety. The aim of this study was to determine what effects such drug dependence had on patient outcomes. METHODS: Ten dependent patients were prospectively compared with 10 well-matched, nondependent HPN patients for the same 12-month period. Episodes of line sepsis and other complications were documented and the cost of treatment estimated. Health status was measured using the SF36 and EuroQol instruments. RESULTS: The dependent group had significantly more episodes of central line sepsis (p = .0007) as well as other complications (p = .0002). This led to significantly longer periods of inpatient care (p = .0004) and therefore higher costs of treatment. Health status was lower in the dependent group; they reported more pain (p = .04) and less energy (p = .04). CONCLUSIONS: The complication rate and increased cost of treatment for opiate- and sedative-dependent patients receiving HPN significantly detract from the overall outcome of this therapy.     

Development of severe secondary hypertension in a patient with systemic entomophthoromycosis

The sudden onset of hypertension mandates investigation for secondary causes. We report the case of a young man with a very rare systemic fungal disease that included massive unilateral perirenal adenopathy. Treatment was associated with the abrupt onset of severe hypertension. Imaging studies suggested progressive constriction of one kidney with treatment, presumably as a result of healing adenopathy. We suggest that this case is a new example of hypertension secondary to constrictive perinephritis (Page kidney).     

Behavioural effects induced by nitrous oxide in rats performing a vigilance task

Nitrous oxide (N2O) effects were evaluated, as a behavioural model of inert gas narcosis, in rats performing a vigilance task in which they were required to respond to a slight luminous increment of the house-light. A dose-related decrease of correct responses was produced by the tested range of concentrations of N2O (from 30 to 70% N2O), with a parallel increase of anticipatory responses up to 60% N2O and a dramatic increase of omissions at 70% N2O. The influence of preparatory period duration on hits delays suggested a 'conditional probability effect' conserved under N2O. Pretreatment of animals with flumazenil (a central benzodiazepine receptor antagonist) did not improve performance under 40% N2O. Naltrexone, an opiate receptor antagonist, however, increased the N2O-induced deficits. These results suggest that benzodiazepine receptors are not involved in N2O-induced impairments in this attentional task, but opiate mechanisms may be implicated.