Structural properties and electrical behaviour of thin silicon oxynitride layers

Thin SiO₂ and SiO_xN_y layers were grown on silicon using Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) in either O₂ or N₂O ambient. Subsequent annealing or nitridation was performed in order to improve the electrical stability. The composition of the films, in particular the incorporation of nitrogen and hydrogen, has been studied. We obtained the distribution of states at the Si/insulator interface through the evaluation of CV measurements and investigated the charge trapping in the layers analysing the voltage–time behaviour during Fowler–Nordheim constant current injection. Furthermore, assuming a trap assisted tunneling mechanism, the influence of near interface trap states on the current voltage characteristic was used to derive an effective insulator state distribution.     

Prenatal diagnostic testing for familial dysautonomia using linked genetic markers

Familial dysautonomia (FD), a recessively inherited disease, has been mapped to chromosome 9q31. Highly polymorphic dinucleotide repeat markers flanking the genetic locus and at the same genetic location have been identified. We describe the prenatal diagnosis of FD using linkage and linkage disequilibrium analyses with these markers. Twelve families were analysed for informativeness and of these, seven went on to have prenatal testing (a total of eight fetuses tested). All of these fetuses were predicted to be heterozygous unaffected (FD carriers). Seven fetuses have come to term and are normal. In the absence of a recombinant proband, a panel of three proximal and three distal markers is sufficient to provide informative flanking markers and an 87-96 per cent likelihood of a highly predictive test. In an additional family at 1:4 risk for FD, no DNA was available from the propositus. This family was analysed using linkage disequilibrium to the #18 allele of the tightly linked marker D9S58 in conjunction with linkage analysis using data from two unaffected children. Prenatal diagnosis in this family indicated an affected fetus.     

The effect of SiO2 on high-temperature deformation and strength of zirconia-toughened alumina

At room temperature, SiO₂ additions may increase the fracture toughness, K _IC, by diminishing the tetragonal phase contents to about 50%, but with ground surfaces the influence on strength is small. A pronounced decrease in strength is observed with rising temperature in the high toughness region from 20°C to M _s, the starting temperature for martensitic transformation. Beyond M _s at lower toughness, the strength behaviour is very similar to nontransforming alumina ceramics, and an even modest increase of the silicate concentration intensively promotes propagation-controlled failure in the brittle creep region (> 900°C) and inelastic deformation. With less than 1% amorphous grain boundary phases, damage-free superplasticity is restricted to small strains of less than 10%. The significance of high-temperature data for tool applications is considered by cutting tests with high feeding rates.     

Bestimmung der Abtragungsraten von Zirconium,Tantal und der Legierung Tantal-40Niob in fluoridhaltiger azeotroper Salpetersäure mit Hilfe der Radiotracer-Methode

The radiotracer technique as a means to investigate the corrosion of zirconium, tantalum, and a Ta-40Nb alloy in fluoride containing azeotropic nitric acid Zirconium and tantalum as well as the tantalum 40% niobium alloy are of considerable technical importance due to their high corrosion resistance against numerous corrosive media. With respect to corrosion testing in analytically pure azeotropic nitric acid in the temperature range between 20 and 121°C, corrosion rates were determined for zirconium: 7 · 10^?6 to 5 · 10^?4 mm/y, for tantalum: 10^?8 to 4 · 10^?6 mm/y, and for the Ta-40Nb alloy: 2 · 10^?7 to 8 · 10^?6 mm/y [1]. These corrosion rates will be markedly increased by adding small amounts of fluorides or by fluoride impurities. The radiotracer method after neutron activation was applied to determine the corrosion rates in azeotropic fluoride containing nitric acid. Even minute additions of fluorides strongly affect the corrosion resistance of zirconium. In the range between 0.15 and 10 ppm F^? and at a temperature of 108°C, corrosion rates between 5.3 · 10^?3 and 3.1 mm/y were measured. It was impossible to establish a limit for the fluoride concentration, below which the corrosion rate of zirconium will not be adversely influenced. The corrosion rates of tantalum and the Ta-40Nb alloy are considerably increasing above a fluoride concentration of 10 ppm. The highest corrosion rates measured were between 8.4 · 10^?3 mm/y at 50°C/280 ppm F^? and 1.4 · 10^?2 mm/y at 110°C/320 ppm F^?. Within the range of this investigation, the corrosion resistance of tantalum was higher than that of the Ta-40Nb alloy by one order of magnitude. The corrosion resistance of zirconium and tantalum was not influenced by any treatment of the samples before testing.     

A single mutation Asp229 --> Ser confers upon Gs alpha the ability to interact with regulators of G protein signaling

RGS proteins (regulators of G protein signaling) are GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) for Gi and Gq families of heterotrimeric G proteins but have not been found to interact with Gs alpha. The Gs alpha residue Asp229 has been suggested to be responsible for the inability of RGS proteins to interact with Gs alpha [Natochin, M., and Artemyev, N. O. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 4300-4303]. To test this hypothesis, we have investigated the possibility of generating an interaction between Gs alpha and RGS proteins by substituting Gs alpha Asp229 with Ser and replacing the potential Gs alpha Asp229 contact residues in RGS16, Glu129 and Asn131, by Ala and Ser, respectively. RGS16 and its mutants failed to interact with Gs alpha. A single mutation of Gs alpha, Asp229Ser, rendered the Gs alpha subunit with the ability to interact with RGS16 and RGS4. Like RGS protein binding to Gi and Gq alpha-subunits, RGS16 preferentially recognized the AlF4--bound conformation of Gs alpha Asp229Ser. In a single-turnover assay, RGS16 maximally stimulated GTPase activity of Gs alpha Asp229Ser by approximately 5-fold with an EC50 value of 7.5 microM. Our findings demonstrate that Asp229 of Gs alpha represents a major barrier for Gs alpha interaction with known RGS proteins.     

Percolation and eddy currents in random close packed metal polymer composites

Bare and copper-coated polystyrene (PS) beads are mixed to give various volume fractions of electrically conducting and insulating spheres. This random mixture is subsequently sintered under pressure in a hot dye. The resulting solid is a polymer body in which thin (0.3 m) copper shells form a tightly packed cellular cluster which exhibits electrical continuity. This continuity is detected by inductive coupling via eddy currents to a coil at r.f. frequency. The percolation threshold for both two- and three-dimensional systems is observed by changing the thickness of the samples in a range in which it is comparable to the size of the beads. The observed thresholds for percolation are in good agreement with the theory.     

IT Service Climate—An Essential Managerial Tool to Improve Client Satisfaction With IT Service Quality

Although client satisfaction surveys can assess client satisfaction with IT service quality, they cannot easily be used to pinpoint how internal IT behaviors influence client satisfaction and prescribe solutions. This research fills the gap by introducing a concept— IT Service Climate—and a validated ten-item instrument that significantly explained client ratings of IT service quality. We recommend this measure as an effective diagnostic tool for managers aiming to improve quality and client satisfaction.     

Acoustic evaluation and adjustment of an open-plan office through architectural design and noise control

Arranging office space into a single open room offers advantages in terms of easy exchange of information and interaction among coworkers, but reduces privacy and acoustic comfort. Thus, the purpose of this work was to evaluate the acoustic quality of a real open-plan office and to propose changes in the room to improve the acoustic conditioning of this office. The computational model of the office under study was calibrated based on RT and STI measurements. Predictions were made of the RT and STI, which generated the radius of distraction r(D), and the rate of spatial decay of sound pressure levels per distance doubling DL(2) in the real conditions of the office and after modifications of the room. The insertion of dividers between work stations and an increase in the ceiling's sound absorption improved the acoustic conditions in the office under study.