Chemical-mechanical polishing of SiO2 thin films studied by X-ray reflectivity

Specular X-ray reflectivity from SiO₂ thin films prepared on silicon substrates by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition showed the films to have a characteristic width of the decay in density at the free surface of 17 Å, to be about three-quarters the density of -quartz, and to have an interfacial layer at the silicon interface that was of the order of 100 Å wide and less dense than the bulk of the film. After chemical-mechanical polishing the characteristic width of the decay in density at the free surface was reduced to 10 Å; furthermore, the near-surface region to a depth of 30 Å had a greater density than the as-deposited film. Off-specular reflectivity confirmed that the decrease in characteristic width at the free surface was due to reduced roughness upon polishing and also revealed that the lateral correlation length in the limit of long wavelengths was the same for both polished and unpolished samples. The compression of the near-surface region during polishing is believed to enhance the dissolution of SiO₂ into the slurry which is necessary to achieve smooth surfaces.     

Effect of irradiation and packaging type on sensory quality of chill-stored turkey breast fillets

A panel of experienced assessors was used to test the effect of irradiation at 2.5kGy (250krad) on the sensory quality of 1-day and 21-day-old turkey breast fillets stored at 1°C in either oxygen-permeable polythene or an oxygen-impermeable barrier film. In the application of Free Choice Profiling and Generalized Procrustes Analysis, assessors used their own terms to describe the appearance, odour and flavour of the samples.
The irradiated samples showed negligible growth of micro-organisms across 21 days of storage. Radiation treatment resulted in an intense pink colour in the raw and cooked samples, which was maintained during storage in oxygen-impermeable film, but decreased in samples exposed to oxygen during storage. Radiation also produced a set of unpleasant raw odour notes variously described as sour, rancid, mature, bad meat or putrid in the samples stored in oxygen-impermeable film. These notes were unlike the sulphurous notes previously associated with protein denaturation in irradiated chicken and were apparently distinct from the odour notes that developed in corresponding non-irradiated samples.     

Dysregulated CD38 Expression on Peripheral Blood Immune Cell Subsets in SLE

Given its uniformly high expression on plasma cells, CD38 has been considered as a therapeutic target in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Herein, we investigate the distribution of CD38 expression by peripheral blood leukocyte lineages to evaluate the potential therapeutic effect of CD38-targeting antibodies on these immune cell subsets and to delineate the use of CD38 as a biomarker in SLE. We analyzed the expression of CD38 on peripheral blood leukocyte subsets by flow and mass cytometry in two different cohorts, comprising a total of 56 SLE patients. The CD38 expression levels were subsequently correlated across immune cell lineages and subsets, and with clinical and serologic disease parameters of SLE. Compared to healthy controls (HC), CD38 expression levels in SLE were significantly increased on circulating plasmacytoid dendritic cells, CD14⁺⁺CD16⁺ monocytes, CD56⁺ CD16^dim natural killer cells, marginal zone-like IgD⁺CD27⁺ B cells, and on CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ memory T cells. Correlation analyses revealed coordinated CD38 expression between individual innate and memory T cell subsets in SLE but not HC. However, CD38 expression levels were heterogeneous across patients, and no correlation was found between CD38 expression on immune cell subsets and the disease activity index SLEDAI-2K or established serologic and immunological markers of disease activity. In conclusion, we identified widespread changes in CD38 expression on SLE immune cells that highly correlated over different leukocyte subsets within individual patients, but was heterogenous within the population of SLE patients, regardless of disease severity or clinical manifestations. As anti-CD38 treatment is being investigated in SLE, our results may have important implications for the personalized targeting of pathogenic leukocytes by anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies.     

A “Three-in-One” Multifunctional Probe for Bcl-2/Mcl-1 Profiling and Visualizing in Situ

Bcl-2 and Mcl-1, the two arms of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins, have been identified as key regulators of apoptosis and effective therapeutic targets of cancer. However, no small-molecular probe is capable of profiling and visualizing both Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 simultaneously in situ. Herein, we report a multifunctional molecular probe (BnN₃-OPD-Alk) by a “three-in-one” molecular designing strategy, which integrated the Bcl-2/Mcl-1 binding ligand, fluorescent reporter group and photoreactive group azido into the same scaffold. BnN₃-OPD-Alk exhibited sub-micromolar affinities to Bcl-2/Mcl-1 and bright green self-fluorescence. It was then successfully applied for Bcl-2/Mcl-1 labeling, capturing, enriching, and bioimaging both in vitro and in cells. This strategy could facilitate the precise early diagnosis and effective therapy of dual Bcl-2/Mcl-1-related diseases.     

Inhibition of lipid peroxidation in UVA‐treated skin fibroblasts by luteolin and its glucosides

Ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation causes oxidative damage to human skin cells. This damage may be reduced or prevented using plant compounds as photoprotectants. To investigate the relationship between chemical structure and UVA‐protective activity, three structurally related flavonoids, namely luteolin, luteolin‐7‐O‐glucoside (both present in artichoke) and luteolin‐4'‐O‐glucoside (present in wild carrot), were studied. Human skin fibroblasts exposed to UVA (250 and 500 kJ/m²) were treated with each flavonoid (30 µM) for 18 h prior to irradiation. The extent of lipid peroxidation in the cellular extracts was assessed as lipid peroxides and malondialdehyde (MDA). Luteolin and luteolin‐7‐O‐glucoside both prevented a significant increase in lipid peroxides at 250 kJ/m², but at 500 kJ/m² their effectiveness was clearly attenuated. Contrastingly, luteolin‐4'‐O‐glucoside was pro‐oxidant at both radiation doses. Measurements of MDA levels highlighted that luteolin was clearly more effective than the two glucosides at both 250 and 500 kJ/m². Overall, these results show clear differences between the three flavonoids and suggest that the B ring 3',4'‐dihydroxy group, lacking in luteolin‐4'‐O‐glucoside, may be particularly important. Flavonoid: transition metal ion chelation studies confirmed the influence of the 3',4'‐dihydroxy group, which is also relevant to the quenching of singlet oxygen. These features as well as the greater lipophilic nature of luteolin together explain the superior activity of this flavonoid which may be potentially useful as a supplement in photoprotective skin preparations.     

Antioxidative effects of polyamines

The antioxidative effects of spermine, spermidine and putrescine were determined by measurement of primary and secondary oxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acids, using gas and liquid chromatography as well as spectrophotometric recordings. It was demonstrated that polyamines inhibit the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids,α-tocopherol and carotenoid pigments. Both linear and nonlinear dose/response relationships have been observed. The efficiency of a given polyamine was correlated with the number of amine groups in the molecule. Spermine was, thus, more efficient than spermidine, which in turn had a higher efficiency than putrescine. The relative antioxidative effect was as follows: spermine (100.0), spermidine (61.0), putrescine (23.0), ethoxyquin (27.6), ascorbyl palmitate (18.3), octyl gallate (7.9), tert butylhydroquinone (6.3), butylated hydroxyanisole (3.6) andα-tocopherol (3.4).     

Experimental methods in chemical engineering: X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy‐XPS

X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is a quantitative surface analysis technique used to identify the elemental composition, empirical formula, chemical state, and electronic state of an element. The kinetic energy of the electrons escaping from the material surface irradiated by an x‐ray beam produces a spectrum. XPS identifies chemical species and quantifies their content and the interactions between surface species. It is minimally destructive and is sensitive to a depth between 1–10nm. The elemental sensitivity is in the order of 0.1 atomic %. It requires ultra high vacuum ( Pa) in the analysis chamber and measurement time varies from minutes to hours per sample depending on the analyte. XPS dates back 50 years ago. New spectrometers, detectors, and variable size photon beams, reduce analysis time and increase spatial resolution. An XPS bibliometric map of the 10 000 articles indexed by Web of Science^[1] identifies five research clusters: (i) nanoparticles, thin films, and surfaces; (ii) catalysis, oxidation, reduction, stability, and oxides; (iii) nanocomposites, graphene, graphite, and electro‐chemistry; (iv) photocatalysis, water, visible light, and ; and (v) adsorption, aqueous solutions, and waste water.     

Profiling selected paths with loops

Path profiling records the frequency of each path in an executed program.To accomplish profiling,probes are instrumented in the program and executed as the program runs.So,the number of probes has a significant impact on the efficiency of a profiling technique.By profiling only the interesting paths,existing techniques try to improve the profiling efficiency by reducing the number of probes and optimize path encodings for efficient storage.However,they lack accuracy,waste time on running uninteresting paths,and can mainly deal with acyclic paths.In this article,a novel technique called Profiling Selected Paths(PSP)is introduced to profile selected paths,which enables custom selection for both acyclic and cyclic paths and increases the execution efficiency by early termination on uninteresting paths.Theoretical analysis and experimental evaluation indicate that PSP performs better than existing techniques.     

小说人物的分布表示及其应用研究

小说是以刻画人物为中心,通过完整的故事情节和具体的环境描写反映社会生活的一种文学体裁。对小说人物进行建模,是小说文本理解和小说文本挖掘的基础性工作。该文构建了大规模的小说语料库,抽取人物及其依存特征,提出基于skip-gram的人物向量训练方法,以人物为目标,以依存特征为上下文,基于训练出的人物向量,探索了小说人物相似度计算、小说人物聚类分析及小说人物画像等应用。实验结果表明,小说人物的分布表示有较好的应用效果。